Matt Every - 12 week drugs ban - mitigating circumstances

[Sports_Fanatic]

Interesting one, appears Matt Every has been banned for 12 weeks, announced by the tour.

He’s come out, accepted it but revealed it’s prescribed cannabis use from his Doctor for his mental health, although a quick google suggests he had an arrest in the 2010 for marijuana possession (referenced as others may mention it).

Is it time tours and WADA (I believe it’s linked) have to change their policy on this? I’m not sure what happens to Matt when he returns, suspended again or does he have to give up something helping wo5 his mental health?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Interesting one, appears Matt Every has been banned for 12 weeks, announced by the tour.

He’s come out, accepted it but revealed it’s prescribed cannabis use from his Doctor for his mental health, although a quick google suggests he had an arrest in the 2010 for marijuana possession (referenced as others may mention it).

Is it time tours and WADA (I believe it’s linked) have to change their policy on this? I’m not sure what happens to Matt when he returns, suspended again or does he have to give up something helping wo5 his mental health?

Why do they need to change their policy on it ?

Cannabis can be used as a relaxing drug , something artificial to take away the pressure which is part of the sport - it’s not “performance enhancing” as such but it’s going to have an effect on the players mental ability.

 

[pendodave]

if it's prescribed, I don't see much difference between this and many other relaxing/mind altering drugs which are also prescribed to golfers.
For example, one of the nuggets that dropped out of the leaked olympics drugs tests was that Patrick Read takes ritalin (a drug which quietens the mind) for ADHD.... I believe this condition is as surprisingly prevalent in golfers as asthma is in cyclists....

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

Why do they need to change their policy on it ?

Cannabis can be used as a relaxing drug , something artificial to take away the pressure which is part of the sport - it’s not “performance enhancing” as such but it’s going to have an effect on the players mental ability.

They obviously don’t have too but it feels slightly uncomfortable to ban someone for taking medication a doctor has approved to help their mental state in a world becoming very focussed on mental health.

Other employers do the same, and I imagine that may also be on either stigma or side effects (e.g. if driving does it impact ability) but wondered if time for a change. Also seemed odd it was openly announced as I thought past player bans were always hidden from media and outside world.

 

[larmen]

12 weeks in the off season are not too hard to accept, aren't they? ;-)

Anyway, if it has been subscribed to him by a doctor he must have applied for a therapeutic use exemption (https://www.wada-ama.org/en/questions-answers/therapeutic-use-exemption-tue#item-735) before actually using it. If not then he deserves his ban just for being clumsy with his handling of the situation. It only really gets bad if people handle it like Lance Armstrong who get backdated TUEs for stuff they don't need.