Canadian Ice-Hockey player tests positive for Cannabis
February 03, 2025The Canadian Ice Hockey Player Dane Fox have tested positive for Cannabis. The club has taken him out for the next two games.
Fox, who is the top scorer in the German 2. Division series was picked out for testing on the 22. December in 2024. The analysis showed traces of Tetrahydrocannabinol.
According to the National Anti-Doping Agency of Germany (NADA Germany), an investigation of Fox has started. He is not provisionally suspended during this period as such suspensions are not mandatory for specific substances.
Cannabis was partially legalized in Germany in April 2024. It is still prohibited in sporting competitions according to NADA Germany.
On their website, the National Anti-Doping Organization writes:
The use of cannabinoids in sporting competitions is still prohibited in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Prohibited List. This regulation applies to sport in Germany regardless of the new law on the partial legalisation of cannabis (Cannabis Act, CanG) and non-synthetic Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on 1 April 2024.
The detection of cannabinoids as part of an in-competition test continues to constitute an anti-doping rule violation and is sanctioned in sport. Due to the long detectability of THC, it is recommended that competitive athletes generally refrain from using cannabis. Apart from this, cannabinoids are generally prohibited by some sports federations and sports due to the high safety risk or for ethical reasons.
Few Cannabis Cases in Ice Hockey
In the Anti-Doping Database we have registered more than 800 athletes sanctioned after testing positive for a cannabinoid. At least 170 of these tested positive for Tetrahydrocannabinol.
Track and field is the sport with the most doping cases involving cannabinoids. The sport has sanctioned 78 athletes. Basketball follows second and Rugby third. Ice Hockey has only had four doping cases involving cannabinoids.
USA is the country with the most doping cases involving cannabinoids with 125 sanctioned athletes. France follows closely with 116. Italy is in third spot with “only” 65 sanctions. Canada is on the sixth place on our list with 43 doping cases – before Fox is registered – when or if he is being sanctioned.
What can Fox expect
It is hard to predict the level of sanction Dane Fox may receive. Cannabinoids are only illegal in competition. To avoid any type of sanction, the athlete must prove that he or she used the prohibited substance out-of-competition and that it was not used to enhance his performance on the ice.
When we look at the data in the Anti-Doping Database, we find that most athletes receive a three-month suspension. A total of 191 athletes has received this ban. 165 athletes have been banned for two years, and 131 has been given a six-month suspension.
68 athletes have been given a public warning.
Public impact
The positive test of Dane Fox has had some public interest in the news. Naturally the German media covers the positive test, but we’ve also found articles in Swedish, Finnish and Polish newspapers.
Which is natural. Ice Hockey is a big and popular sport in all these countries.
The Swedish coach of the German team Dresdner Eislöwen, Niklas Sundblad, says this to the German newspaper Bild according to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet:
- It's a shock for the whole team. We're still trying to adjust quickly for the next match.
Why are Cannabinoids on the WADA Prohibited List?
For something to be added to the WADA Prohibited List, it must meet two of the three inclusion criteria: 1) it has the potential to enhance performance 2) it poses a health risk to athletes and 3) it violates the spirit of sport.
WADA published the outcomes of a review of Cannabinoids in 2022 discussing how marijuana and cannabinoids meet the WADA Prohibited List inclusion criteria. In brief, the WADA Prohibited List Committee noted there is not rigorous evidence that clearly demonstrated performance enhancement. However, the committee was united in identifying cannabinoids as meeting the second criteria and the third criteria. In conclusion, WADA maintains that cannabinoids belong on the WADA Prohibited List and the substance category will continue to be prohibited in-competition.
In 2019, WADA exempted cannabidiol (CBD) from this category. However, all other cannabinoids, whether natural or synthetic, are prohibited in-competition. Even though CBD is permitted at all times, this article explains the legal and anti-doping issues that continue to make CBD products risky for athletes.
Sources:
https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/education/six-things-know-about-cannabidiol/