Diaz's five-year suspension is harsh but not surprising

After watching mixed martial arts for many years, I understand why fans follow certain fighters. For instance, former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz has a large fan following. Diaz is known for his trash talking, anti-authority attitude and willingness to scrap his opponents. He also smokes marijuana.

Whatever the reason, Diaz fans rally around their hero through thick and thin. Recently, the Nevada Athletic Commission recently suspended Diaz for failing his UFC 183 post-fight drug test where a sample tested positive for marijuana. He passed two of his three drug tests — the two tests he passed were administered through a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited sports medicine testing and research laboratory. The test he failed, which had 300 nanograms per milliliter — twice the allowed threshold of 150 ng/ml was administered through Quest Diagnostic, a corporation that provides clinical laboratory tests.

Diaz wasn’t able to provide a clean drug sample to the NAC until days before the bout

The commission handed Diaz, who has failed two previous drug tests, a hefty five-year suspension. This caused a deluge of outcry from MMA fans and fighters with the hashtag #FreeNickDiaz. A couple of Diaz’s training partners have also boycotted fighting in Nevada while the former Strikeforce champion serves his suspension.

It’s easy to see why people would call the suspension unfair. Diaz’s UFC 183 opponent, Anderson Silva, tested positive for steroids and only received a one-year suspension. Unlike Diaz, Silva has never failed a drug test in his career.

During the hearing the commission pointed to Diaz’s previous offenses, as well as an incident in 2010 where he and his brother were involved in a brawl at a Strikeforce event.

Diaz is a past offender and had to have known the commission was going to hand him a harsh punishment, especially if he lied about it. According to commissioners, he lied on the pre-fight medical forms when it asked if he had taken drugs two weeks before the fight.

While I think five years is a bit much, I believe the “Free Nick Diaz” movement is ridiculous. For starters, Diaz is not in jail. He is free to roam the streets as he pleases. There are also petitions to get Diaz’s suspension lifted. Some have compared the suspension to a “lifetime ban” from mixed martial arts, but it’s only five years and in Nevada. If he wants, Diaz can fight in another part of the United States or the world. I hear drug testing in Japan is a bit lenient.

The other issue is that marijuana is banned in sports, particularly in competition.

Diaz has a medical marijuana license in his home state of California. Even if he has a prescription for medical marijuana, cannabis is still illegal under federal law.

According to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which currently administers drug testing for the UFC, does allow therapeutic use exemption for FDA-approved uses of THC, such as the drug Dronabinoll to manage some of the symptoms of Aids or to treat nausea or chemotherapy. It does not accept any applications for medical marijuana.

There has been some leniency on use cannabis in the last couple of years in some competitions. WADA, which oversees drug testing in the Olympics, amended its rule on cannabis to raise the threshold for a positive test from 15 ng/ml to 150. This is to catch athletes who use marijuana during competition and not beforehand

Athletes are like regular people in that many of them smoke marijuana but until the United States government legalizes the drug, athletic commissions have the power they need to ban it and punish athletes who use it.

If fans really want to help Diaz and other athletes like him, instead of going on social media and tweeting hashtags, they should write to elected officials, asking them to consider legalizing marijuana nationwide.

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].