Culture
WNBA Removes Marijuana From Banned Substances List And Sets Rules For Player Endorsements Of Hemp CBD Products
The WNBA has officially removed marijuana from its prohibited substances list while also laying out rules for how players can invest in and promote cannabis companies.
At the same time, however, the women’s basketball league is also adding several psychedelics to the list of banned drugs.
As part of negotiations between the Women’s National Basketball Players Association and WNBA earlier this year, the league offered to remove cannabis from its drug testing protocol. Now, under the terms of the long-form version of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed by representatives of both sides, marijuana no longer appears on the prohibited substances list, whereas under the prior CBA it was included under “Drugs of Abuse.”
Prior WNBA policy treated cannabis significantly more restrictively compared to the NBA, as well as multiple other professional sports leagues beyond basketball that have also adopted reforms amid the state legalization movement. First-time offenses generally resulted in treatment referrals, but repeated violations could lead to fines and suspensions.
Under the new rules, players could still be subject to testing for cannabis if they enter the league’s Drugs of Abuse Program, if they are found to have been under the influence “while engaged in activities” for the team or the league or if they have “a dependency or other related issue involving the use of marijuana.”
Those who are referred to a marijuana treatment program and do not comply with the rules would be subject to fines of $300 per day. Any player who exhibits a “pattern of behavior that demonstrates a mindful disregard for her treatment responsibilities” or tests positive for marijuana would face escalating penalties such as a $3,000 fine or suspension for three or more games.
Players could be subject to “reasonable cause” drug testing or administrative proceedings if they are convicted of a felony involving the distribution or marijuana.
At the same time WNBA and the players union are loosening up on marijuana, however, it has also added specific entries for the psychedelics dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, psilocybin and psilocin to the prohibited substances list for the first time.
Also prohibited under the new policy are synthetic cannabinoids, which the document describes as “including, but not limited to, Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (also called delta-8-THC)) and their By-Products.”
Separately, the CBA also addresses players’ investment in and promotion of companies that sell marijuana and hemp-derived CBD products.
It says that players can hold a direct or indirect ownership interest in marijuana companies as long as the interest is passive (meaning no management, governance, voting, or executive role or other operational rights or roles” and they have less than a 50 percent stake in the business.
There is also a requirement for the company to operate “in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” and the document specifically notes that players may not hold any ownership interest in a business “that produces or sells any products containing any Prohibited Substance or any other Schedule I or II substance under the Controlled Substances Act.”
While marijuana has been classified under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act since 1970, the Trump administration in April announced that it was moving state-licensed medical cannabis, as well as any cannabinoid products approved by the Food and Drug Administration, to Schedule III, where WNBA’s prohibition would presumably no longer apply. Broader reclassification of marijuana to Schedule III will be the topic of a hearing scheduled to begin later this month.
WNBA’s rules for CBD-specific companies are looser than those for marijuana businesses in that they don’t require passive interest or less than 50 percent ownership. The document also says that players can actively promote and endorse that sell CBD products. If the products are produced by a marijuana company, however, players will first need to receive permission from the league and the union.
“Without limiting such approval right of the WNBA and the Players Association, the promotion or endorsement by a player of a CBD Product that is produced or sold by a Marijuana Company (A) will not be permitted if such CBD Product is associated by the Marijuana Company with any Marijuana Product (e.g., the CBD Product is marketed or sold under a brand that also includes or refers to Marijuana Products) or if any proposed promotion creates a reasonable risk of public confusion with any Marijuana Product, and (B) if approved, shall be subject to any terms and conditions imposed by the WNBA and/or the Players Association.”
“For clarity, any investments in or promotions or endorsements of entities that produce or sell products containing a form of cannabis (including, for clarity, a CBD form of cannabis) not expressly permitted…are prohibited,” the agreement that was finalized on May 22 says. “In the event a player engages in a prohibited investment, promotion, or endorsement, then, without limiting other WNBA rights or remedies, the player shall be required to promptly dispose of her ownership interest in the prohibited investment and/or immediately terminate her participation in the prohibited promotion or endorsement, as applicable.”
The league gave some indication about its willingness to accept the changing tides around cannabis in 2024, when the WNBA team New York Liberty entered into a partnership with a CBD beverage company.
Meanwhile, Brittney Griner—a WNBA player who was previously incarcerated in Russia over possession of marijuana—pulled out of an appearance at a cannabis event last year after discovering what she felt was a threatening message in her hotel room.
Conference attendees had hoped to hear from Griner about the nature of her incarceration in Russia, which helped fuel international debate about cannabis prohibition laws domestically and abroad.
How other sports leagues have navigated marijuana policy for players amid the reform movement.
NBA, for its part, removed marijuana from the banned substances list for players in 2023, and it also freed them up to invest in and promote cannabis companies.
The NFL, meanwhile, reached an agreement with its players union in 2024 to further reform its marijuana policies, significantly reducing fines for positive tests while increasing the allowable THC threshold for players. About four years after NFL ended the practice of suspending players over cannabis or other drugs as part of a collective bargaining agreement, the league again revised its Substances of Abuse Policy and Performance Enhancing Substances Policy.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2024 voted to remove marijuana from its banned substances list for Division I players.
The reform builds on a 2022 change that increased the allowable THC threshold for college athletes, aligning NCAA’s rules with those of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
In 2024, Nevada regulators officially adopted a rule change that will protect athletes from being penalized for using or possessing marijuana in compliance with state law.
The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) blasted the “unfair” ban on marijuana for athletes competing in international sport events, including the Olympics that were underway in Paris at the time of the comments.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart said it was “disappointing” that WADA has maintained the cannabis prohibition based on what he considers a misguided justification.
WADA did carry out a review into its marijuana policy at the request of USADA and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) following the controversial suspension of U.S. runner Sha’Carri Richardson, who was barred from participating in the Olympics in 2021 after she tested positive for THC. Richardson said she used cannabis to cope with the recent passing of her mother.
While UFC announced in late 2023 that it was formally removing marijuana from its modified banned substances list for athletes, the league notified participants that the reform didn’t apply under California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) rules.
UFC advised fighters that they could be subject to a $100 fine by CSAS if they tested over 150 nanograms of THC per milliliter ahead of the UFC 298 event that took place in February.
In 2024, NFL announced it was partnering with Canadian researchers on a clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of CBD for pain management and neuroprotection from concussions—key issues for many football players who experience injuries as part of the game.
