It is alleged that MLB now allows too many baseball teams to sell sponsorships to cannabis companies that market CBD products if they meet certain criteria.
MLB has been one of the most advanced professional sports organizations in the United States regarding marijuana, and this reported development is another example of how the baseball league is normalizing cannabis.
The Sports Business Journal first stated that in order for the team to sell CBD sponsorship, the future company’s products must be certified by NSF International, the consumer safety and product testing organization used by sports leagues, and the club must also be authorized by the MLB commissioner’s office.
The league announced the move in a conference call with the team’s marketers on Tuesday.
MLB Revenue Director Noah Garden said that although certain cannabis brands had contacted them to obtain certification for their CBD products, none had yet received that status, the sports news agency reported.
“None of them are there yet, although about three to five [brands] is underway, “he quoted.
“We’ve been watching this category for a while and waiting for it to mature enough for us to be happy with it,” the MLB official said. “Our fans are very much the customers they are looking for and we like to be the first. This is a good opportunity for us and the clubs.
“The last companies to get to know us were accepted into the NSF certification process,” Garden added. “It gave us a level of comfort so we could move on.”
🚨 REST: @MLB teams are now free to sell CBD sponsorships.
League officials told team marketers that CBDs are an “approved category” once testing organization NSF has confirmed they do not have THC psychoactive levels.
➖ Terry Lefton https://t.co/2YE5Xitezv pic.twitter.com/zxclSbHpZm
– Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) June 22, 2022
Marijuana Moment contacted MLB for comment and clarification on CBD’s sponsorship policy, but the representative did not respond immediately.
MLB has stood out among other professional sports leagues as it is ready to respond to the changing landscape of marijuana policy. For example, the 2020 memo clarified that players will not be penalized for using cannabis if they do not work, but they must not be personally sponsored by a marijuana company or invest in the industry.
The league also said at the time that it was working with NSF International to analyze and certify legal, pollution-free CBD products to enable teams to keep them on club territory. It is unclear whether this latest development is directly related to this cooperation.
The update was based on MLB’s 2019 decision to remove cannabis from the Prohibited List. Prior to this rule change, players who tested positive for THC were placed on mandatory treatment and fined up to $ 35,000 for non-compliance. That punishment is now gone.
The policy is the result of negotiations between MLB and its players’ association. Both sides agreed to go too far with drug policy, with an emphasis on treatment rather than punishment. Players who test positive for opioids or cocaine, for example, will only be penalized if they refuse treatment.
Several sports governing bodies have recently relaxed the rules on cannabinoids as laws change and medical applications become more widespread.
For example, NCAA student athletes would no longer automatically lose their right to play after a positive marijuana test according to the rules recommended by the main committee earlier this year.
The debate over drug testing and professional sports came to the fore last summer after U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was banned from the Olympics for a positive THC test. She admitted to using cannabis legally after learning of her mother’s death.
The runner said he would feel “blessed and proud” if the attention paid to his case affected the policies of other athletes. Even the White House and President Joe Biden themselves considered the case, pointing out the question of whether a ban on marijuana should remain the rule.
Meanwhile, as early as 2020, the NFL’s drug testing policy changed markedly as part of collective bargaining.
NFL players are no longer facing the possibility of being banned from playing games because of positive tests for some drugs – not just marijuana – on the basis of collective bargaining. Instead, a fine awaits them. The transaction also raised the threshold for a positive THC test.
The NBA announced in late 2020 that it would extend its policy of not randomly testing players for marijuana for the 2021-2022 season. The Community stated that it would not subject players to random drug testing for THC; However, they will continue testing for a reason if players have a history of substance use.
The marijuana icon Snoop Dogg, who took part in the Super Bowl half-year this year, which aired an ad that indirectly supported legalization, argued that sports leagues should stop testing marijuana players and allow them to use it as an alternative to prescription opioids. .
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