UFC Increases Marijuana Limit For Fighters

In a move that is sure to please a number of people within the promotion, the UFC has raised the acceptable threshold for marijuana metabolites in a given fighter’s system.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission’s Steroid and Drug Testing Advisory Panel met this past weekend to discuss a number of issues, and one was the issue of marijuana testing, especially marijuana testing for international events. When putting on events in other countries, the UFC acts as its own regulatory body, but the promotion’s current threshold of 50 ng/mL is just a third of the newly-deemed acceptable level of 150 ng/mL set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner said that the promotion will raise its threshold to meet that of the WADA.

“When we self-regulate around the world, we are going to go the WADA standard of 150,” Ratner told MMA Junkie. “So we’re starting that immediately.”

Ratner added that the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission will also change its threshold to meet the WADA standard. The change will go into effect during the next event in Brazil, UFC on FUEL 10, which will be held in Fortaleza on June 8.

A change in marijuana testing could reduce the number of fighters who are suspended or fined for testing positive. Since 2012, at least seven fighters have tested positive for marijuana. Several of the commissioners supported increasing the threshold, including NJSAC regulator Nick Lembo.

“I leave medical decisions to medical personnel,” Lembo said. “But my personal feeling is that I would much rather focus on obvious performance-enhancing drug use like steroids and blood doping.”

There is no word from UFC president Dana White about the change, but White has said in the past that he didn’t think marijuana should be a banned substance because he doesn’t think it is performance enhancing. White said his personal feelings don’t matter, however, and that there are rules the fighters need to follow.

Do you think the NSAC made the right decision raising the marijuana threshold?