NCAA Policy Bans Substances like THC and CBD 

By: Richard J. Baquero

CSI Baseball player fails drug test, his departure is kept under wraps. Credit: thestranger.com

At the start of the Fall Semester, Head Coach Michael Mauro insisted that his players stay away from drugs and alcohol. But once he found out one of his new players failed his drug test, according to sources, Mauro arranged a meeting with his players that the failed drug test and subsequent departure of right handed pitcher Frank Cullen be kept under wraps. 

Frank Cullen had made the team coming from St. Peter’s Boys High School. Cullen was a right-handed pitcher, an outfielder, and played both corner infield positions.

Student athletes across CSI now follow new drug policies in order to stay eligible in their respective sport and ensure a “clean and honest” program. 

Three players are chosen randomly to be tested before the start of the season and before any important game such as regional game or playoff game. So instead of following up with the consequences of the failed drug test, Cullen decided to leave the team. 

In mid-to-late October, before the start of the Men’s Basketball season, the team was subject to two random tests, one by CSI and one by the NCAA.  

The NCAA’s policy has banned the following classes of drugs: stimulants, anabolic agents, alcohol and beta blockers, diuretics and other masking agents, street/illicit drugs, peptide hormones and analogues, anti-estrogens, and beta-2 agonists. Any other drugs that are chemically related to the classes above have also been banned. 

For CSI athletes who have tested positive during a drug test must attend therapy and will be suspended from five games in whichever sport that athlete competes in. 

The NCAA penalties for testing positive for certain banned drugs are slightly different from each other. Testing positive for PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs) results in the loss of one full year of eligibility and cannot compete within 365 days of the test. A second offense results in the loss of all remaining years of eligibility. 

THC and CBD are two of the most accessible drugs in the country and are among the list of banned substances. According to the NCAA, any student-athlete who tests positive for a substance in the cannabinoid class is not allowed to compete for 50% of the season in all sports in which that student athlete plays in. 

However, CBD has been used by many athletes around the country to alleviate a variety of pains, diseases, and disorders. 

According to Jonathan Miller, general counsel at the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, CBD is legal in New York State. Additionally, the NCAA takes into consideration medical exceptions for athletes who can provide documented medical reports that state the medical need for medications, even if banned. All requests for exceptions must go through the NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. 

The Banner reached out to David Pizzuto, Associate Director of Athletics, for further elaboration on the issue. “I would prefer not to comment,” said Pizzuto.

The Banner has also sought to contact the pitcher, Frank Cullen, and received no response. Nor did Charles Gomes, CSI’s Director of Athletics, respond to requests for comment.

There will be re-tests in early February 2020.