Sha'Carri Richardson 2021: The Case That Forced WADA Review

Hayward Field, June 19, 2021 (10.86)

Sha'Carri Richardson won the women's 100m at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on June 19, 2021, in 10.86 seconds. USADA collected the post-race urine sample under the WADA Code as the U.S. National Anti-Doping Organization for Olympic disciplines. The sample returned a THC-COOH concentration above the in-competition threshold (150 ng/mL) under WADA Section S8.

The 30-Day Suspension and the Voided Result

The period of ineligibility began June 28, 2021. On July 2, 2021, USADA publicly announced the 30-day suspension and the voiding of Richardson's 100m Trials result. That morning, Richardson made her Today Show appearance accepting responsibility on the record, framing the decision as a personal choice made in a legal-rec state under acute grief — she had been informed by a reporter, mid-interview during the Trials window, that her biological mother had died.

July 6, 2021: The USATF Roster Without Her

Richardson's 30-day suspension was scheduled to end August 5, 2021, before the Tokyo 4×100 m relay. On July 6, 2021, USATF released the Olympic roster without Richardson, declining to use a discretionary relay slot on her despite eligibility timing. The decision — voiding a Trials result was mandatory under WADA strict liability; the relay omission was a separate USATF discretionary call — became one of the most-debated U.S. team-selection decisions in modern Olympic history.

The ONDCP and Congressional Pressure

USADA CEO Travis Tygart issued a public statement that the WADA rules "must change" while emphasising USADA's strict-liability obligations as a Code signatory. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy joined the public pressure. Eighteen members of Congress — including Reps. Lee, Blumenauer, Ocasio-Cortez, and Raskin — signed a letter urging WADA and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to reconsider the cannabis classification. The combined U.S. executive-and-legislative pressure produced what is to date the most public U.S.-government interest in a single WADA Prohibited List entry.

WADA's Scientific Review and the September 2022 Vote

In late 2021, WADA's Executive Committee opened a formal "scientific review of the status of cannabis" through the List Expert Advisory Group (LiEAG). On September 23, 2022, in Sydney, the ExCo voted to retain cannabis on the 2023 list. The press release stated the ExCo "endorsed the LiEAG recommendation that the status of THC on the List should remain unchanged" and that the Ethics Expert Advisory Group "continues to consider cannabis use, at this time, to be against the spirit of sport." On September 22, 2023, in Shanghai, the ExCo reaffirmed when approving the 2024 list. The 2026 Prohibited List (approved September 11, 2025; effective January 1, 2026) preserves the retention.

USADA's "Cannabis: A Reasoned Approach" (April 2022)

USADA's April 2022 response document — Cannabis: A Reasoned Approach — laid out the agency's case for cannabis policy reform from within the Code-signatory framework. It argued that the performance-enhancement leg of the WADA three-criterion test is unsupported, the health-risk leg is contested for adult athletes using moderate doses out-of-competition, and the "spirit of sport" leg is the most subjective. USADA continues to enforce the current rule under strict liability while advocating for change.

Paris 2024: Richardson Returns

Richardson made the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning the women's 100m at the U.S. Trials in Eugene on June 22, 2024. The return closed the most-followed athlete-cannabis case of the modern Olympic era — though it left the underlying WADA rule unchanged. For the contemporary anti-doping mechanics that produced the 2021 outcome, see in- vs out-of-competition rules and TUEs & strict liability.