Florida State Boxing Commission voted to remove cannabis from its list of prohibited drugs on Tuesday, which means combat sports athletes who use marijuana are no longer at risk of lengthy suspensions or overturned results.
“We’re not testing for it,” Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation spokesperson Patrick Fargason told ESPN. “We’re not doing anything with it — period.”
United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), charged with drug testing the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) roster before, during, and after each mixed martial arts (MMA) event, made a similar change earlier this year.
Other states, like Nevada and Texas, have yet to follow suit.
This week’s change came on the heels of a recommendation from the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) medical advisory committee, one that labeled cannabis as a “performance reducer” as opposed to a performance enhancer.
UFC made its return to Jacksonville with the UFC 261 pay-per-view (PPV) card back on April 24 and is likely to revisit “The Sunshine State” in the near future now that Florida has reopened sporting venues.
