MLB now allows the league’s baseball teams to sell sponsorships to cannabis companies that market CBD products, as long as they meet certain criteria.
MLB has been one of the most progressive professional sports organizations in the United States when it comes to marijuana, and this reported development represents another example of how major league baseball is normalizing cannabis.
For a team to sell a CBD sponsorship, first Sports Business Journal reportedA potential company’s products must be certified by NSF International, a consumer safety and product testing organization used by sports leagues, and the club must also receive clearance from the Office of the Commissioner of the MLB
The move was announced by the league in a conference call with team vendors on Tuesday.
MLB Chief Revenue Officer Noah Garden said that while certain cannabis brands have reached out to get their CBD products certified, none have yet received that status, the channel reported sports news
“There are none of them yet, although between three and five [brands] they are in process,” he said.
“We’ve been watching this category for a while and we hope it matures to a point where we can feel comfortable,” the MLB official said. “Our fans are very much the type of customers they are looking for and we like to be the first. It’s a good opportunity for us and the clubs.”
“The last few companies that came to see us about this, the NSF certification process was accepted,” Garden added. “That gave us a comfort level to be able to move forward.”
🚨 BREAKING: @MLB teams are now free to sell CBD sponsorships.
League officials told equipment vendors that CBDs are an “approved category” as long as they are certified by the NSF testing organization to have no psychoactive levels of THC.
Terry Lefton pic.twitter.com/zxclSbHpZm
— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) June 22, 2022
Marihuana Moment reached out to MLB for comment and clarification on the CBD sponsorship policy, but a representative did not immediately respond.
MLB has stood out among other professional sports leagues as the most willing to respond to the changing marijuana policy landscape. For example, it was clarified in a memo in 2020 that players will not be punished for using cannabis while not working, but they cannot be personally sponsored by a marijuana company or have investments in the industry.
The league also said at the time that it was partnering with NSF International to test and certify legal and contaminant-free CBD products to allow teams to stock them at club facilities. It is unclear whether this latest development is directly related to this collaboration.
The update was based on MLB’s decision in 2019 to remove cannabis from the league’s banned substance list. Prior to this rule change, players who tested positive for THC were referred for mandatory treatment and failure to comply carried a fine of up to $35,000. This penalty has already disappeared.
The policies are the result of negotiations between MLB and its players union. The two sides agreed to approach the league’s drug policy by emphasizing treatment rather than sanctions. Players who test positive for opioids or cocaine, for example, will be penalized only if they refuse treatment.
Several sports governing bodies have recently relaxed the rules on cannabinoids as laws change and medical applications become more widely accepted.
For example, NCAA student-athletes would no longer automatically lose their eligibility to play after testing positive for marijuana under rules recommended by a key committee earlier this year.
The conversation about drug testing and professional sports came to the fore last summer after American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended from the Olympics for testing positive for THC. He admitted to using cannabis in a legal state after learning of his mother’s death.
The runner said she would feel “blessed and proud” if the attention her case brought would affect a change in policy for other athletes. Even the White House and President Joe Biden himself weighed in on the case, suggesting there’s a question about whether marijuana prohibition should “remain the rules.”
Meanwhile, the NFL’s drug testing policy already demonstrably changed in 2020 as part of a collective bargaining agreement.
NFL players no longer face the possibility of being suspended from games for testing positive for any drug, not just marijuana, under a collective bargaining agreement. Instead, they will face a fine. The threshold for what constitutes a positive THC test was also raised with the agreement.
The NBA announced in late 2020 that it would extend its policy of not randomly drug testing players for marijuana through the 2021-2022 season. The association said it would not subject players to random drug testing for THC; however, they will continue to try “for cause” cases where players have a history of substance use.
Marijuana icon Snoop Dogg, who appeared at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show where a separate ad indirectly supporting legalization aired, argued that sports leagues must stop testing marijuana for players and allowing them to use it as an alternative to prescription opioids. .
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