WADA Cannabis Rules 2026: 150 ng/mL In-Competition Ban Explained

Status: Prohibited In-Competition Prohibited in-competition

While U.S. professional and collegiate sports have decoupled from cannabis testing between 2019 and 2024, WADA has held its line. Section S8 "Cannabinoids" of the 2026 WADA Prohibited List — in force January 1, 2026; approved by the WADA Executive Committee on September 11, 2025 — lists, prohibited in-competition only:

• "Natural and synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols (THCs)" — the active intoxicant in cannabis flower, concentrates, and edibles.
• "Synthetic cannabinoids that mimic the effects of THC" — e.g., Spice, JWH-018, JWH-073, HU-210.

All prohibited substances in S8 are Specified Substances, which generally allows for reduced sanctions and Substance-of-Abuse pathway (Article 10.2.4.1) treatment when use is not for performance and is followed by a treatment program. Cannabidiol (CBD) is explicitly exempted — removed from the Prohibited List effective January 1, 2018.

The 150 ng/mL Threshold and 180 ng/mL Decision Limit

Urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ&sup9;-THC (THC-COOH) at greater than 150 ng/mL constitutes an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF), with a 180 ng/mL Decision Limit used to account for measurement uncertainty. The threshold was raised from 15 ng/mL to 150 ng/mL effective May 2013 — a tenfold increase. WADA's stated rationale, per Director of Communications Julie Masse, was to "focus on the athletes that abuse the substance in competition." The percentage of failed cannabis tests under WADA's program dropped from 9.0% in 2012 to 2.4% in 2014, validating the design intent.

For threshold mechanics across leagues, see THC-COOH Thresholds & Windows.

The In-Competition Definition

WADA defines the in-competition period as "commencing at 11:59 p.m. on the day before a Competition in which the Athlete is scheduled to participate, through to the end of that Competition and the Sample collection process" (2026 Prohibited List). The implication: out-of-competition cannabis use is not a Code violation. But because THC-COOH persists in urine for days to weeks after exposure, a heavy out-of-competition user can still cross the 150 ng/mL Decision Limit on competition day — producing what is technically an in-competition AAF from out-of-competition use. See In-Competition vs Out-of-Competition and washout protocols for the practical implications.

The Retention Votes: Sydney 2022, Shanghai 2023, 2025

In the wake of the Sha'Carri Richardson case, WADA opened a scientific review by the List Expert Advisory Group (LiEAG) in late 2021. The retention chronology:

• September 23, 2022 (Sydney) — 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… the Ethics Expert Advisory Group… continues to consider cannabis use, at this time, to be against the spirit of sport."
• September 22, 2023 (Shanghai) — ExCo reaffirmed, approving the 2024 list with cannabis retained.
• September 11, 2025 — ExCo approved the 2026 list. Cannabis retained.

WADA Director General Olivier Niggli framed the retention: "the few requests for THC's removal from the Prohibited List are not supported by the experts' thorough review… the laws of many countries — as well as broad international regulatory laws and policies — support maintaining cannabis on the List at this time."

USADA's "Cannabis: A Reasoned Approach"

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) published its policy paper "Cannabis: A Reasoned Approach" in April 2022 — an unusual move for a Code signatory and a clear public statement that USADA disagrees with WADA's retention while remaining bound by it as a signatory. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in the Biden White House and 18 members of Congress (including Reps. Lee, Blumenauer, Ocasio-Cortez, and Raskin) had earlier joined the post-Richardson pressure that drove the 2022 review. None of it moved WADA.

The "Spirit of Sport" Critique

The WADA Code's three-criterion test requires that a substance meet two of: (a) performance enhancement, (b) health risk, (c) violation of the spirit of sport. Critics argue cannabis fails the first leg outright:

• Performance enhancement — the Doping Authority Netherlands publicly stated cannabinoids "most likely have a negative impact on athletic performance." USADA has reached the same conclusion (see THC and Performance).
• Health risk — contested for adult athletes using moderate doses out-of-competition, particularly given alcohol's permitted status.
• Spirit of sport — the operative criterion, the most subjective, and the one cited by WADA's Ethics Expert Advisory Group as decisive in the 2022 retention.

The U.S. White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and named individual federations have publicly questioned the ban. Most Asian and Middle Eastern signatories support retention; European positions are mixed.

Olympic-Era Cases

• Ross Rebagliati (Canada, snowboard giant slalom, 1998 Nagano) — 17.8 ng/mL THC-COOH; gold medal initially stripped February 11, 1998, restored February 12 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on technical grounds (cannabis was not yet on the IOC banned list). Cannabis added to the IOC banned list in April 1998 — "the Ross Rebagliati Rule."
• Nicholas Delpopolo (USA, judo 73 kg, 2012 London) — expelled August 6, 2012 after testing positive at 32 ng/mL (over the then-15 ng/mL threshold); attributed to inadvertent ingestion of a cannabis-baked good. Returned to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
• Cyrus Hostetler (USA, javelin) — 2008 USOC issue, illustrating earlier-era enforcement.
• Sha'Carri Richardson (USA, 100m, 2021 Tokyo) — June 19, 2021 win at the U.S. Trials, July 2 USADA 30-day suspension, July 6 USATF roster decision. The case that forced the WADA review.

2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games

The WADA 2026 Prohibited List S8 governs the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games. No rule change for cannabis was made for the Games. Ross Rebagliati's 28-year-old case remains the cautionary tale: cannabis can derail an Olympic medal even when the substance produces no performance benefit.