When the LPGA Tour begins its random drug testing next year, one of the substances they’ll be looking for is regular old herb – mary-jane – pot – weed – motivation – whatever you want to call it. I think I’m going to start calling it cannabinoid (’cause it’s fun to say). It’s number 7 on the list:
7. Cannabinoids
The LPGA prohibits the use of cannabinoids (e.g. marijuana), which are considered to be performance enhancing when administered to induce a perceived calming effect.
Okay, let’s see here…
First of all, what if a “perceived calming effect” isn’t why it’s – ahem – administered?
Second, I don’t know about you but I’ve witnessed golfers hitting the pipe on the course (this is Southern California after all) and the effect may indeed be calming but certainly not performance-enhancing. I’m sure a “calming effect” is much more important at that level of competition than to the recreational smoker golfer, but it seems to me that it would hurt more than it would help.
Based on my… research… a better reason to ban cannabinoids on tour is to prevent slow play. Seriously. Ever seen a stoned golfer deliberate over a putt?
November 22, 2007 at 2:06 am
Ummm – cannibus isn’t a “performance enhancing drug” – the list of banned substances isn’t just steroids and HGH and the like – marijuana is ILLEGAL in the US. It doesn’t matter what your personal feelings on the subject of legality are – right now, marijuana is against the law and therefore on the banned substances list.
November 22, 2007 at 2:14 am
No, it’s on the list because it is considered a “performance enhancer.” Check it out (the link is in the post). I wasn’t surprised that it was banned, I was surprised by that reason. Also, unlike some other banned and ILLEGAL substances, people can have prescriptions for marijuana. I doubt any player would submit an application but I’m guessing the Medical Waiver Review Panel would get out their big red rubber stamp that says DENIED in any case.
November 22, 2007 at 3:13 am
Well whaddya know. But now that I think about it, since the LPGA plays sanctioned events in countries where de’ cannibus mahn is not illegal, they can’t just base their ban on US law.
November 23, 2007 at 6:08 pm
It looks like the people that wrote the bylaw are severely lacking analytical thinking skills. More ignorant people in authority that make the choice not to educate themselves.
The verbage in #7 indicates that if one consumes cannabis for ANY reason OTHER than to induce calming, it is therefore not considered performance-enhancing by the poorly educated committee. It is a simple logic problem. So if you use it to reduce nausea, you have therefore NOT used it to indice calming, and therefore BY THEIR OWN DEFINITION, it is then NOT considered performance-enhancing.
Secondly, if medications that indice calming are against the rule, then they need to also test for every antidepressant on the market. We can reasonably estimate that 30% of the LPGA members are prescribed medications that ultimately affect mood for the better.
HYPOCRITES lacking EDUCATION
November 23, 2007 at 6:10 pm
P.S. If a female golfer has cramps and she takes Midol, wouldn’t you say that by definition this drug was used to induce calming. Yes. Anyone in pain will have physiological stress responses, which by definition and logic, are reduced or eliminated by the drug, hence calming, by ANY doctors definition.
November 26, 2007 at 12:52 am
performance enhancing because of perceived calming effect
then what about drugs that give a psychological “calming effect” and are “legal”. Such as alcohol and nicotine.
November 28, 2007 at 5:25 am
Will the LPGA be testing for TESTOSTERONE?
November 28, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Of course. Anabolic agents are #1 on the list.
November 28, 2007 at 7:35 pm
ok – all you potheads relax 😉 – how about something a little more likely to show up on a women’s golf tour – birth control pills. These little jewels can be personalized to fit a wide range of physical needs – but how do you decide what is allowable on tour ? if a player’s “doctor” prescribes a pill that conatins a lot of testosterone or something else needed to make the pills work, but might be on the banned list – then what ?
November 28, 2007 at 7:41 pm
You can slap me for responding this way courtney, but I imagine many don’t need them.
November 28, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Courtney –
There are many anti-estrogenic substances on the list including drugs that are commonly prescribed to breast cancer patients. So there has to be a procedure in place for obtaining medical waivers.
Here is the protocol.
November 28, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I’ll slap him for you. *slap* 😛
November 28, 2007 at 8:12 pm
guru – that was Chicky – not me – I thought it was funny. 😀
ok – so anti-estrogenics are on the list. That answers part of a question we have had around here – but isn’t the control of estrogen what is required to prevent pregnancy? My 9th grade health class didn’t go into a lot of detail on the subject.
November 28, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Despite what guru thinks, I’d guess it’ll be a commonly granted medical waiver, depending on which ones are actually on the list.
November 28, 2007 at 9:03 pm
I think guru’s point was that the ladies who are, shall we say, who less inclined to male companionship, would have no need for birth control pills. Nature still requires male and female bits to reproduce. 😉
A lesbian requesting birth control pills might be a little suspicious.
November 28, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Bingo!
November 28, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I understood the point. These days I’d bet the percentage of homosexuals on tour is the same for the PGA and LPGA. Maybe for number of players taking anabolic agents (like testosterone) as well.
November 28, 2007 at 9:54 pm
I don’t know about that. I’d have to guess that there are more women than men taking birth control pills, and anabolics are pretty much a waste of time for golfers. It’s the designer stuff like HGH that will be the problem.
November 28, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Hmm… maybe you misunderstood. Testosterone is neither an anti-estrogenic nor a birth control pill. I singled out testosterone because of mediaguru’s reference to it followed by his implication of lesbians on tour (as if all lesbians take testosterone). I simply meant there’s probably as many gay people on the PGA tour as the LPGA as well as players getting pharmaceutical assistance.
Boy, HGH is a whole other issue. Even though “the list” includes anabolic agents not specifically mentioned, they’re often stacked in HGH and new cocktails and combinations are problematic for testing.
November 29, 2007 at 3:26 am
I’d have to bet you dollars to doughnuts on the percentages of gay males vs females on their respective tours, but that’s a different discussion. And nobody said that all lesbians take testosterone. (just the facts, ma’am)
HGH is not an anabolic agent.
Funny thing about lists like this in sports – they don’t include a lot of things because they are very difficult to test for, and very embarrassing if found.
November 29, 2007 at 3:55 am
Okay I’m tired of explaining myself…
November 29, 2007 at 4:28 am
in that case – smoke ’em if you got ’em…unless you’re being tested soon. 😉
January 2, 2008 at 9:40 pm
So if they start drug testing will they test for nicotine which is a very powerful drug which helps calm the nerves of many a Tour player? This is such a slippery slope because something that is beneficial to one player may be just as detrimental to another. I want to watch great golf and could care less if they take something to help them with their nerves. We’re all born differently and some people’s genetics allow them to feel less nervous than others. Is that fair?
January 30, 2008 at 5:19 am
Golf-chic you are amazing. This is love at first read. Who gives a flying f&*^ if a golfer smokes weed? It’s only illegal the result of scare tactics by the tobacco industry and uncle sam in the 40’s of 50’s. Whichever who cares.
Performance enhancing drugs should be the focus of this testing. Pot and LSD and other Canabinoids are wasteline enhancers…
Again, your article was great. You made me laugh hard. I read a lot of articles on roids/hgh trying to sort it all out and yours was the one that made me laugh..Thank u for not being a stuffy old country club wench. You rule.
January 30, 2008 at 5:24 am
I just wanted to add that efforts by entities like the LPGA to enforce dumb federal laws like “marijuana is illegal” is exactly why America is slowly becoming a police state. I realize that the elite golf entities would probably prefer that most people be put in a cage somewhere but gee others of us like our tiny bit o freedom. I urge the LPGA to rethink its list. Are they testing for Cuban cigars too? Those are illegal arent they?
January 30, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Stephen – the reason pot is on the testing list is that marijuana is still an ILLEGAL substance in the US. This is no big secret. It doesn’t matter what Carolyn Bivens opinion is about it, or the players committee, or the media, or whoever. It is illegal.
The LPGA is simply following the law of the land – unlike the NBA.
When that changes, you won’t have to worry about it.
Personally, I don’t care if people smoke pot or do heroin or cocaine or whatever – what I want is, when people commit crimes or hurt other people while on the drugs – or more to the point – when they hit rock bottom and scream for the government to pay for their rehab – that they take care of their own problems. I don’t want to pay for your bad decision to do drugs.
January 30, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Oh my god I’m being stalked by the LPGA drug enforcement police lady….I got up this morning and found the above message in my box. Lesson learned. Don’t fill in the email box on the leave a comment dealybob.
Also, I got a note from Lady Golf Pro magaazine. Their doing a “think piece” on the ramifications of Cuban Cigars on the tour. Guest author and sexy photo layout is non other than the cigar master himself William Jefferson Clinton. Go Bill.
SW Stonerman
June 13, 2008 at 4:21 am
A couple months ago I did an informal study on the effects of marijuana on the golf game. The study took place at a professional golf tournament where I was a caddie (only time i’ve ever caddied).
At night, after the practice round, I went out with some of the golfers and caddies. Eventually somebody broke out some weed. At the time, I was carrying, on my person, a particularly wicked strand of ganja named “Headband”. Impressed with the quality, I left a few of my company with some nuggets.
During the tournament, they blazed the “Headband” and had the strongest finish of their careers.
That said, it hasn’t exactly worked wonders for MY golf game.
February 28, 2009 at 2:53 am
marijuana makes golf MUCH more interesting and fun
March 14, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Wow….I didnt know that….kind of makes sense though, so would it be the same with baseball also? Or it would make it worse in you’ll have a delayed reaction of the baseball vs. golf…which is just a ball on the ground you hit?
hmmm….
March 14, 2009 at 9:27 pm
You just need to wear eye protection and it’s good. Often the cannabis provides better instincts on what’s about to take place…..so, you can predict where the pass will go and you’re there ahead of time ready to catch, shoot, dribble…whatever. It’s really a sort of miracle performance enhancer.
July 11, 2010 at 4:52 pm
In response to some of the last few messages:
My golf partner and I, both in our 40
s and both long-time smokers and golfers, have had this ongoing argument for years.
He contends that playing while high, as the two of us do every time together, has no effect on his game. On the other hand, I have made the argument that my game suffers due to the impairment and if I played more rounds “sober”, I’d be a better golfer.
We have been comparing scorecards and games for 7 years or more– a truly informal study– and although my short-game suffers horribly and his long irons tend to push a bit more often– the bottom line is that the final score us usually the same.
Conclusion: each individual is different, but among the two of us, recreational pot use on the course neither helps nor hinders the final score vs. not smoking.
Of course, then there’s the laughing like schoolchildren that makes it all worthwhile.
February 4, 2011 at 11:28 pm
I was looking for the LPGA’s rules on cannabis and found this page. There is no way in HELL that cannabis is a performance enhancer in any sport. But it can be incredibly useful for a variety of conditions at insignificant toxicity when compared to many prescription drugs that can be deadly. I tried to commit suicide, completely unplanned, while SLEEPWALKING on Ambien for example! I now use cannabis exclusively for insomnia. It does not cause anywhere near the tolerance of drugs like Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin and yes even Ambien. But all those drugs are A-OK. But GOD FORBID someone saute a friggin HERB and spread a teaspoon on a cracker before bed. No, no, you can’t do that! But you can take poison by the handful and the government and all sports bodies are just fine with it.
Oh, and the types of drugs I mentioned are responsible for KILLING Erica Blasberg. No way she intended to kill herself on Mother’s Day of all days. It would not surprise me if, like me, she was asleep through what happened to her. I have to wonder if cannabis were legal, if she’d still be here with us.