A Sportsman’s Paradise: What Louisiana Can Do to Protect Collegiate Athletes In Need of Medical Marijuana
Southern University Law Center Law Review, 2020
28 Pages Posted: 11 May 2020
Date Written: April 15, 2020
Abstract
The NCAA has a strict policy against drugs and other substances. The NCAA’s policy includes an exhaustive list of certain controlled substances, nutritional enhancements, performance enhancements, and alcohol that are banned from collegiate athlete use. However, the NCAA substance policy includes a minimal list of substances that are exempted from the ban. This list includes substances that are medically prescribed to the student-athlete. Surprisingly, medical marijuana does not appear on the list of exemptions.
Louisiana has recently enacted a comprehensive statutory regulation scheme for the use, production, sale and “recommendation” of medical marijuana. However, what this field of regulation lacks is a provision explicitly tailored toward collegiate athlete’s legal use of medical marijuana in the state. This provision is crucial due to the NCAA’s refusal to recognize medical marijuana as a legal alternative for college athletes. Instead, the NCAA has chosen to lessen the punishment for a positive test instead of exempting legal use. This Comment recommends potential regulation by the State of Louisiana to shield Louisiana collegiate athletes from NCAA and institutional punishment for lawfully abiding by state regulation.
Keywords: Student-Athlete, Medical Marijuana, Student-Athlete drug ban NCAA, Controlled Substances, Louisiana Medical Marijuana
JEL Classification: J30, K10, K14, Z20, Z22
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation