Nick Diaz failed in his obligations to himself and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. But the Nevada State Athletic Commission's use of urinalysis to determine impairment isn't providing any service to mixed martial arts, the fighters or the fans.
Let's establish two facts from the outset. First, Nick Diaz's use of marijuana to the extent it produced a positive drug test result is irresponsible. Second, the urinalysis test regarding marijuana consumption used by athletic commissions (ostensibly) designed to protect the health and safety of fighters does neither and is little more than kabuki theater.
The UFC has every right to be disappointed with Nick Diaz. They invested huge sums of money and other promotional resources to push him, his fight and build him as a pay-per-view attraction. As incoherent and insane as some of the rules may be (more on that in a minute), he accepted the handshake. That meant not only fighting Condit, it also included media promotion and some measure of clean living. For him to test positive on the urinalysis - which could've resulted in promotional disaster for the UFC had he actually defeated Condit at UFC 143 - is the height of unprofessionalism and represents a total failure as a partner to the UFC.
But it's also true, and perhaps more important, that the urinalysis test (MMAFighting.com has confirmed Nevada uses urinalyses to test fighters for various banned substances, including marijuana) used by the Nevada State Athletic Commssion (NSAC) to gauge marijuana use does not perform the function it purports to do.
"[Marijuana] is banned because of the damage it does to the person taking it," said Keith Kizer, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Officer to the L.A. Times. "It could make you lethargic, slow your reflexes, and those are dangerous things in a combat sport."
I can't see how marijuana is any more of a benefit/hindrance than anti-depressants would be, and certainly a medication like Adderall is absolutely more performance-enhancing than weed is.
Completely meaningless . Let's ban fighters from having a beer also.
I'm no pot smoker but please do a little research on the topic and you would be surprised how it's more harmless then most drugs prescribed by doctors.
"[Marijuana] is banned because of the damage it does to the person taking it," said Keith Kizer, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Officer to the L.A. Times. "It could make you lethargic, slow your reflexes, and those are dangerous things in a combat sport."
ummm does the user not know this? which fighter is going in their thinking "im going to be lethargic and slow."
this is really about putting down marijuana and not condoning its use. the federal government has stated it is illegal and this sets the example that we as citizens are supposed to follow. however, 16 states currently have medical marijuana. diaz has a medical marijuana license, we all knew this before, during and now, after.
this is about marijuana being illegal. it has nothing to do with performance in any way shape or form.
If you're going to play a game, you have to play by the rules. Caffeine is pretty harmless too, but too much of it in your system will still get you DQ'd from the olympics.
Fedors Jim Jams - "[Marijuana] is banned because of the damage it does to the person taking it," said Keith Kizer, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Officer to the L.A. Times. "It could make you lethargic, slow your reflexes, and those are dangerous things in a combat sport."
ummm does the user not know this? which fighter is going in their thinking "im going to be lethargic and slow."
this is really about putting down marijuana and not condoning its use. the federal government has stated it is illegal and this sets the example that we as citizens are supposed to follow. however, 16 states currently have medical marijuana. diaz has a medical marijuana license, we all knew this before, during and now, after.
this is about marijuana being illegal. it has nothing to do with performance in any way shape or form.
politics > all this boiler plate...it's all lies and Keith Kizer knows it
probably. biased at the very least. what do they test for? and where do they draw the line in testing? people do allot of crazy "illegal" shit to themselves.. I'd like to know that if they're gonna test they test for everything or nothing at all.
Neil Funk - I can't see how marijuana is any more of a benefit/hindrance than anti-depressants would be, and certainly a medication like Adderall is absolutely more performance-enhancing than weed is.
I was under the impression that Adderall was banned even with a legitimate RX
"For him to test positive on the urinalysis - which could've resulted in promotional disaster for the UFC had he actually defeated Condit at UFC 143 - is the height of unprofessionalism and represents a total failure as a partner to the UFC".
He failed himself, his family, his friends, his gym and his fans. It's not about testing for pot is right or wrong, this is about Nick showing a level of irresponsibility at a point in his career when the highest level of ethical standards should be observed. There is really nothing more to be said.
lordbreakdown - is anal sex illegal in Nevada? I'd like to know if they test fighters for illegal anal sex before a fight.
everything is legal there... all sorts of debauchery is allowed in sin city... home of the UFC.
UFC wants to be a major sport. nba, nhl, mlb, and nfl all have headquarters in new york while ufc cant even hold 1 event there. not 1 event. UFC is headquartered in the only place that would take such company... las vegas nevada... home of gambling, fighting, and prostitution.
kizer and the ufc knew about diaz before this happened. its well known that diaz uses medical marijuana. they filmed all of that primetime stuff and the marijuana issue came up and they never thought to look into it further and sort out the paperwork? guys can go on HRT with the proper papers no problem but diaz with a medical license can't?
letting diaz get through because he uses marijuana is wrong because everyone knows marijuana is wrong, we've been told that all our lives... but hrt is okay because casual fans don't know what hrt is therefore they don't have any negative feelings of it??
YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SET OF RULES AND RULES WITH LITTLE TO NO GRAY AREAS (FOR INTERPRETATION REASONS). You may not like the rules and what should or should not be included and might strongly disagree with the reasons the rulemakers have for putting them in place but the fact remains there are rules. Even rules about legal strikes, what can be done to a downed opponent or one that is kneeling, etc. Sure, pure old days of NO HOLDS BARRED was great but not today.
So if the rules say marijuana is not allowed then you have to abide by it.
Please read the rest of the article, guys. The crux of the argument here is that Keith's reasoning for marijuana testing is to prevent fighters from FIGHTING WHILE STONED, and the testing doesn't determine that- in fact a regular smoker can stop weeks before his bout and still test positive, which flies completely in the face of Keith's reasoning for testing.
The problem is with the testing itself, which is meaningless because of this lack of differentiation between someone who smoked right before the test and someone who smoked days or weeks earlier. What should be done is testing that gives a better indication of when the use took place- such as blood testing, which, instead of measuring metabolites in urine that are excreted for weeks or even a month after a smoker has stopped, detects actual levels of THC in the blood from recent smoking that go away after hours or perhaps a couple of days of being quit.
It should be the same any any test of this nature, you test for T levels in testosterone users to ensure they aren't doping, you should test the level of canaboids in a person to ensure they aren't stoned while fighting. Asking someone to stop 10 days before a fight, but never asking someone to do the same with testosterone just doesn't make any sense at all.
