Track and field phenomenon Sha’Carri Richardson on Saturday qualified for the 2024 Olympics, three years after the star sprinter was disqualified from the U.S. team because of a positive drug test for THC metabolites. Richardson’s win in a qualifying event sets the stage for her to run in this year’s Summer Olympic Games, which kick off in Paris on July 26.

Richardson took the top spot in the 100-meter sprint at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon, winning the race with this year’s world-leading time of 10.71 seconds. After a sluggish start in the race, Richardson passed the other runners at the 60-meter mark and retained her lead to the finish line to secure her spot on the 2024 U.S. Olympic team.

“This time around, I feel as if it was more — definitely still confident, still my exciting, normal self, but more so the overwhelming feeling of joy,” Richardson said following the race.

Richardson’s training partners Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha “Tee Tee” Terry rounded out the top three finishers in Saturday’s 100-meter race, with Jefferson running a personal best time of 10.80 seconds and Terry taking third with a time of 10.98. All three sprinters qualified for the 2024 Olympics with their performances at the meet and the trio will head to Paris next month to compete for the U.S. team.

“It definitely confirmed the year we’ve been training for. We’ve been preparing for this moment, it’s a full circle moment,” Richardson said about the three teammates, USA Today reported. “We’re grateful and appreciative and I’m super excited to grow and build from this momentum that we’ve already established. It’s more than exciting to continue to go forward with my girls. We didn’t put the world on notice, the world already knew. …We knew this moment could be possible if we put our minds, body and spirit into it.”

Last Chance at Olympic Gold Thwarted By Positive Drug Test

Richardson was disqualified from the U.S. Olympic team for the 2020 Games, which were postponed to the following year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She had secured a spot on the team for the 100-meter event at the Olympic trials in 2021, but Richardson agreed to a 30-day suspension after testing positive for weed in a test taken at the qualifying meet. With the suspension running through the 100-meter Olympic race, Richardson was dropped from the team and denied the chance to race at the Tokyo Games.

“In the past three years, I’ve grown just a better understanding of myself,” she said in a post-race press conference, according to a report from The Athletic. “A deeper respect and appreciation for my gift that I have in the sport and as well as my responsibility to the people that believe in and support me. I feel like all of those components have helped me grow and will continue to help me grow into the young lady that I have been divined and by God (have) been blessed to be.”

“It manifests,” she added, “in having a deeper love and a deeper care for the talent I have been given. And I take advantage of it. Nurturing it. Taking care of my body. Take care of my mind as well as my spirit.”

Richardson heads to Paris at a time of peak career performance. She took a gold medal in the 2023 World Track and Field Championships and led against a strong slate of international competition at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon last month. With her win at the Olympic qualifying event on Saturday, Richardson is the early favorite to take gold in the 100-meter sprint at the Paris games next month.

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Joining the team of NBCUniversal, Snoop Dogg is on deck to cover the Olympic Games Paris 2024 this summer. Snoop will relocate to Paris to provide regular reports for the Olympic Primetime Show, which is scheduled to begin on July 26 on NBC and Peacock. 

According to a Dec. 31 announcement, Snoop is scheduled to join NBC Olympics host Mike Tirico and provide American primetime viewers with his own unique spin on the Olympics in Paris. He’s scheduled to do rounds of the city’s notable landmarks, attend Olympic competitions and events, and visit with the athletes, their friends, and families.

“I grew up watching the Olympics and am thrilled to see the incredible athletes bring their A-game to Paris. It’s a celebration of skill, dedication, and the pursuit of greatness,” said Snoop Dogg. “We’re going to have some amazing competitions and, of course, I will be bringing that Snoop style to the mix. It’s going to be the most epic Olympics ever, so stay tuned, and keep it locked. Let’s elevate, celebrate, and make these games unforgettable, smoke the competition, and may the best shine like gold. Peace and Olympic LOVE, ya dig?” 

His upcoming role as an Olympic announcer was first announced on New Year’s Eve during halftime of Sunday Night Football’s coverage of the Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings on NBC and Peacock.

Snoop joined Kevin Hart to cover the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, however the COVID pandemic put a major damper in the game activities, and Snoop’s coverage was a small highlight amid a notably quiet Olympics year. Now with the pandemic out of the way, he’s doing it again.

“Snoop is already an Olympic gold medal commentator, generating tens of millions of views for his highlights commentary on Peacock of the dressage competition during the Tokyo Olympics,” said Molly Solomon, Executive Producer and President, NBC Olympics Production. “That performance alone has earned Snoop a job as our Special Correspondent in Paris. We don’t know what the heck is going to happen every day, but we know he will add his unique perspective to our re-imagined Olympic primetime show.”

Snoop as a narrator came front-and-center several years ago when programmers ingeniously cast him as the narrator for Planet Earth and Planet Earth II, aka Plizzanet Earth. It was a big hit.

On New Year’s Eve, during halftime of Sunday Night Football, Snoop starred in a “Snoop Year’s Eve” promotional video for the Paris Olympics. In a 75-second video, Snoop jokes with Team USA athletes Suni Lee (gymnastics), A’ja Wilson (basketball), Jagger Eaton (skateboarder), and duo Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes (beach volleyball) about their past wins and defeats in the Olympics. The content was shot last November at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California as part of NBCUniversal’s promotional shoot for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Olympics in Paris Plan a Few New Things

Scheduled for Paris this summer, the world’s greatest athletes will go head-to-head in Paris where the modern Olympic Games (as opposed to the Ancient Roman Olympics) were conceived 130 years ago. This will be the third time Paris has hosted the Olympics—the last times being 1900 and 1924—tying London for the city with the most years as a Summer Games host. Los Angeles (1932, 1984) will tie those two cities when it hosts the first Summer Games in the U.S. in 32 years in 2028.

The organizers of Paris 2024 plan to do a few new things this year to make them more accessible to the public and to showcase the city: First, competitions will be held adjacent to iconic landmarks in Paris, for instance with beach volleyball near the Eiffel Tower, equestrian at the Palace of Versailles, and urban sports at Place de la Concorde. Organizers think this will make the games more attractive to people from different walks of life.

Last May, NBCUniversal announced that the NBC broadcast network and streaming service Peacock will be the company’s primary platforms for its coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, which is scheduled for July 26-Aug. 11. Click on the NBCUniversal website for more programming information and here for information about the Paralympics, which will take place Aug. 28 – Sept. 8.

NBCU owns the U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games through 2032, which are scheduled for Paris (2024), Milan Cortina (2026), Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032). The host city for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games has not yet been chosen.

This year, with the addition of Snoop Dogg and notable Parisian landmarks, Olympics organizers hope to bump up the ratings.

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Sha’Carri Richardson’s Olympic trials suspension sparked a discussion of cannabis. But the World Anti-Doping Agency wasn’t moved by the evidence.

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A year after saying it was reconsidering its ban on cannabis, the World Anti-Doping Agency will reportedly keep the ban in place.

The Wall Street Journal, citing “people who have seen a draft copy of the list,” reported on Monday that the agency “appears set to keep cannabis on its list of prohibited substances for 2023, despite friction over American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension last year.”

Richardson was suspended last summer less than a month before the start of the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana, which brought international scrutiny to what many consider an antiquated ban.

The World Anti-Doping Agency, as well as the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, all have cannabis listed as a banned substance.

The U.S. governing bodies say that cannabis is banned because it could potentially pose a health and safety risk to athletes, and that cannabis could be a performance-enhancing substance for some.

The outrage over Richardson’s suspension prompted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to reconsider the policy. Last September, the agency said it would take up a recommendation from its Prohibited List Expert Advisory Group and launch “a scientific review of the status of cannabis.”

A year later, it appears as though the status quo will prevail.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that as “the deadline approaches to finalize the WADA 2023 prohibited list, however, there are strong indications that cannabis will remain prohibited,” with the Prohibited List Expert Advisory Group in favor of “keeping a ban in place, saying that based on the scientific evidence available, the drug meets the criteria for inclusion on the list.”

According to the Journal, the advisory group “circulated a draft list for 2023 that still includes cannabis,” and that WADA “typically follows the advice.” But the Journal noted that the agency “emphasized that the list is still provisional until later this month.”

“The draft 2023 Prohibited List is still under consideration,” a WADA spokesman said in a statement, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal. “WADA’s Executive Committee will be asked to approve the final version of the List during its 23 September meeting, with the List itself being published on or before 1 October and coming into force on 1 January.”

Richardson’s positive marijuana test came shortly after she won the 100m dash at the U.S Olympic trials. Now 22, Richardson took responsibility for her actions after the test was revealed.

“I want to take responsibility for my actions,” Richardson said during an interview on the Today show at the time. “I know what I did and what I’m not supposed to do. I know what I’m not allowed to do, and I still made that decision. Not making an excuse or looking for any empathy in my case but being in that position of my life and finding out something like that—something that I would say has impacted my life positively and negatively […] when it comes to dealing with the relationship with my mother—that definitely was a heavy topic on me.”

But others were less forgiving of the decision, with Richardson drawing a wave of support from fellow athletes, lawmakers and even the White House.

“It does stink,” then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in an interview at the time. “I don’t think there’s a better definition of it. She has lost her mother; she’d gone through a tragedy and she’s also the fastest woman in the world—and I think she’s sending a message to a lot of little girls out there; you can do this. We know the rules are where they are; maybe we should take another look at them. We certainly have to respect the role of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the U.S. Olympic Committee and the decisions they make. But it is sad.”

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Olympic gold medalist and swimmer Joseph Schooling, 27, apologized after facing backlash from his native Singapore for smoking weed while in Vietnam. Singapore’s drug laws are among the strictest in the world, and the stigma there is strong.

Schooling was in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he won two gold medals, while competing for the Hanoi 2022 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on leave from military service, and there he was caught smoking some weed.

Heads are spinning at the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Singapore Ministry of Defence after they learned of Schooling’s pot use from the country’s Central Narcotics Bureau. The Singapore Ministry of Defence released an August 30 press release, announcing that Schooling will undergo drug testing for the next six months.

“The Central Narcotics Bureau has concluded its investigations on PTE Joseph Schooling, and handed over the management of the case to the SAF, as he is a full-time National Serviceman,” the release reads. “Urine tests for controlled drugs conducted on PTE Joseph Schooling returned negative. However, PTE Schooling confessed to have consumed cannabis overseas in May 2022, when he was on short term disruption from full-time National Service (NS) to train and participate in the Southeast Asian Games.

“Following existing protocol, PTE Schooling will be placed on a supervised urine test regime for six months. All SAF personnel who test positive during this regime will be charged and sentenced accordingly.”

Lancaster Online reports that Schooling posted an apology on Instagram, in a now-deleted post.

“I gave in to a moment of weakness after going through a very tough period of my life,” Schooling said in a message posted Tuesday night on Instagram. “I am sorry that my actions have caused hurt to everyone around me, especially to my family and the young fans who look up to me.”

“I made a mistake and I’m responsible for what I’ve done. I will make amends and right what is wrong. I won’t let you down again,” the post reads.

Yahoo! News Editor Chia Han Keong wrote an op-ed, saying that Schooling deserves empathy—not backlash—for a crime as small as cannabis. In the meantime, Schooling’s entire reputation is on the line.

Schooling vs. Phelps

In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Schooling beat Michael Phelps—the most decorated Olympian of all time—at the 100-meter butterfly. Schooling has described Phelps as his “idol” and was enthralled to beat him at his own game.

Schooling was sent to the Olympics while studying at the University of Texas in Austin. At the Tokyo Olympics 2021, he was eliminated while trying to defend his 100-meter butterfly title.

Ironically, Phelps himself was forced to apologize in the United States when he was caught smoking weed by a British tabloid, and a photo surfaced of Phelps hitting a bong, quickly going viral in 2008. For any other 23-year-old, it would have been considered normal behavior.

“I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way,” Phelps said in a statement. Like Schooling, Phelps probably had no choice but to publicly express remorse for smoking weed.

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. “I’m 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me,” Phelps said. “For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public—it will not happen again.”

Despite smoking weed in his youth, Phelps is one of if not the fastest swimmer alive. Compare this to the fastest runner alive, Olympian Usain Bolt, who is a known supporter of cannabis businesses. 

That said, it’s probably not fair to associate cannabis with slowing down our physical bodies. In the professional world of sports, however, it’s a whole different story.

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Need another reason to make the switch to hemp as a sustainable source of fiber? The plant is currently being used as a luge and bobsled track reinforcement at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. The Olympic Games Beijing 2022 began on February 4 with the opening ceremonies and will run through February 20.

The plan has been in motion for some time, according to reports. Beginning nearly four years ago, Calgary, Alberta-based processor Canadian Greenfield Technologies (CGT) in Canada began delivering over 60,000 pounds of its NForce-Fiber for use in competition luge and bobsled tracks during the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The move by CGT at the Winter Olympics has implications for the usefulness of hemp fibers in future industrial projects. “Undoubtedly, the usage of a hemp-based, highly technological product in such a high profile project brings awareness of the enormous potential for industrial hemp,” Vice President and General Manager of CGT told High Times.

CGT announced the plan back on May 9, 2018 in a press release, describing the properties of the NForce-Fiber®, which is being used to strengthen concrete used in bobsled and luge tracks. The Vancouver Sun reports that it has been proven to be superior in performance to plastic and glass fiber in concrete, something cannabis advocates have been claiming for a while now. 

“A unique product world-wide, NForce-Fiber® demonstrated its high performance in numerous applications requiring concrete with superior integrity and surface quality. It has been specified for this project by an international team of engineering and construction experts,” CGT stated.

The company continued, “NForce-Fiber® is a unique, high-performance, concrete reinforcement fiber manufactured from the world’s strongest and most durable natural fiber—industrial hemp fiber. Tested and verified by independent, world renowned concrete experts, NForce-Fiber® is ASTM/CSA compliant and has been featured in Shotcrete magazine, the leading publication of the shotcrete industry.”

The Calgary-based company sent a massive amount of its hemp fibers product to be used to replace plastic fibers as a concrete strengthener, Hemp Industry Daily first reported earlier in February.

The company also sells hemp-derived fiber for outdoor construction projects that use sprayed concrete, or Shotcrete, as the fibers strengthen the concrete. Greenfield Technologies also makes consumer hemp products such as cat litter or hemp-derived potting soil.

On February 1, CGT sold its hemp-products division to HEMPALTA, a recently-formed company also based in Calgary. CGT retains its NForce-Fiber products and its business selling proprietary fiber processing equipment. Darren Bondar, former CEO of cannabis retailer Spirit Holdings Ltd., will lead the company.

In general, CGT processes hemp using its HempTrain Advanced Processing System— a complete, whole plant hemp processing solution. The company’s machines are capable of separating baled hemp straw, round or square, fresh/green or dry, into high-volume, high-value products, according to the website. The company also uses a specialized Hemp Bale Processor that has been engineered specifically to work with the plant.

Hemp as a Fiber

Hemp continues to demonstrate multiple uses as a fuel, fiber, and source of food. Sturdy structures made from the plant could be the future eco-conscious building, High Times reported in the past. While hempcrete is exciting, it will take time to enter mainstream rebuilding projects. Costs remain high and regulations prevent hemp from becoming viable for most projects, so it is likely to remain a costly niche option for sustainable endeavors. Therefore, current rebuilding efforts in the U.S. or elsewhere are unlikely to include hempcrete. 

Domestic hemp typically costs between $100 to $200 per square meter, depending on the company. While you can save money by making your own hempcrete from unprocessed hurds, the cost of labor and additional effort often makes this option unworthy for most.

In addition, cannabinoid testing and the hemp’s exclusion from some building codes makes it a challenge, not to mention crop testing and the THC threshold hemp must abide by. 

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American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson had designs on winning gold at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics until a positive drug test dashed those hopes. Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will continue the pursuit of her own gold medal aspirations at the winter games in Beijing this week, despite also testing positive for a banned substance.

The difference, as Richardson sees it, comes down to race.

“Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines? My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady,” Richardson, 21, tweeted on Monday.

That isn’t the only notable difference between the two cases. Richardson tested positive for cannabis –– not exactly known to enhance athletic performance –– while the 15-year-old Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication that has been said to promote greater endurance in athletes. 

Richardson was suspended for 30 days by the United States Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for pot in late June, invalidating her victory in the women’s 100m race at the U.S. Olympic trials and ultimately keeping her out of the summer games in Tokyo. 

After being dealt the suspension, Richardson said she turned to cannabis to cope with the unexpected death of her mother during the Olympic trials in June.

“It sent me into a state of emotional panic,” she said at the time. “I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time.”

In September, the World Anti-Doping Agency said it would reconsider cannabis’ inclusion on its list of banned substances.

Valieva, meanwhile, has already struck gold once in Beijing this month, helping guide the Russian Olympic Committee to the top of the podium in the figure skating team event –– even though her positive test came on Christmas Day.

The International Olympic Committee postponed the medal ceremony for the team event, citing “legal issues” as reports mounted that a Russian skater had registered a positive drug test.

Last week, the International Testing Agency confirmed that Valieva had tested positive for trimetazidine, putting her status for the individual competition in jeopardy. Valieva was initially suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, but that ruling was reversed a day later. The International Olympic Committee, along with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Skating Union, appealed that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which ruled in Valieva’s favor on Monday.

In its decision, the court cited “exceptional circumstances” and said that a ban would “cause her irreparable harm.”

On Tuesday, Valieva finished the short program with a lead in the individual competition, putting her in prime position to claim another gold. 

In the case of both Richardson and Valieva, the decisions handed down by the governing bodies drew fierce criticism.

But while fellow athletes expressed sympathy to Richardson, Valieva’s peers strongly denounced the ruling by CAS.

According to NBC, trimetazidine, or TMZ, has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances since 2014, and is “categorized as a ‘hormone and metabolic modulator,’ which is illegal for athletes to use both in and out of competition.”

“It is believed that TMZ can improve physical efficiency, especially in the case of endurance sports, although opinions vary on how long-lasting the effect could be,” according to the primer from NBC. “TMZ is usually taken once or twice a day, and easy to detect in tests as a synthetic drug.”

Lawyers for Valieva have claimed that the positive drug test may have been the result of a glass of water that was contaminated with traces of her grandfather’s heart medication.

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Medical cannabis use in sports remains a controversial topic. One MMA athlete is fighting to break the stigma.

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This week we talk with James Gordon, founder of Chi High Tours, about cannabis culture in the Windy City.

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This week the Roll-up crew discuss mental health, cannabis, and the struggle of Black women to establish agency over their own health.

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