UK - Should sport ban cannabis?

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edgarshade

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London Spy

By Eurosport | London Spy – 49 minutes ago

With reader comments

The expulsion of an American judo player from the London 2012 Olympic Games after he tested positive for marijuana prompted scientists to question the sense behind the drug's inclusion on the World Anti Doping Agency's banned list. Few experts think marijuana, or cannabis - whether it's eaten or smoked - can do much to enhance the kind of speed, strength, power or precision that Olympic athletes strive for. And many wonder whether the expensive time and effort of sporting drug testers might be better spent catching serious cheats who top up their blood with EPO or pop anabolic steroids to boost testosterone levels and muscle growth.

"There's no evidence cannabis is ever performance enhancing in sport, and since its use is legal in a number of countries, there's no reason for it to be banned by WADA," said David Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London. "I can't think of any sport in which it would be an advantage. And it seems ludicrous that someone could quite legally smoke cannabis in Amsterdam in the morning and then come over to London in the afternoon and be banned from competing."
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More...
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/londonspy/sport-ban-cannabis-033207631.html
 
Doesn't consumption of cannabis increase lung capacity by some small percentage? Bronchodialation and all that?

In fact, the study found that occasional use of marijuana actually increases both lung capacity and volume over the years, possibly because marijuana smokers often take deep breaths, which exercises lung tissue. The correlation only decreased after the equivalent of about ten years of smoking a joint every day.
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http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1104848

PERFORMANCE ENHANCIN' DRUGS!
 
There is no evidence in the literature that athletes use cannabis to enhance their performance in competitive events (Wagner 1991, Catlin and Murray 1996). As detailed in the following section, cannabis typically impairs psychomotor abilities and cognitive processing. Physical work capacity as measured with a bicycle ergometer is also significantly diminished after smoking marijuana (Steadward and Singh 1975). Anecdotal reports suggest that athletes may use cannabis to relax and be loose before competition or to relax after an intense workout, but there is no empirical support for this...

Although there is no scientific evidence that cannabis enhances performance, there are other reasons for its classification as a banned substance. In sports that entail speed and agility (e.g. skiing, bobsledding), safety is a great concern, and cannabis can impair psychomotor skills, coordination, and cognitive functions. Other arguments for banning cannabis are that in most countries it is an illegal drug and that Olympic athletes are role models for younger athletes....
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From
Performance-Enhancing Substances in Sport and Exercise
By Michael S. Bahrke
(page 247)

So, any drug that makes athletes better or worse at their sport should be banned.
And, since it is already illegal in most places, we have to keep on making it illegal in other places, such as sporting events.
Clear why it is banned now? :|
 
Be better if they banned SPORT !

Billions of dollars wasted on a bunch of non contributing neanderthals.
 
I'd take a version of the olympics that focused on say, science or maths or something that would improve humanity over a bunch of muscly guys throwin rocks and sailing boats. Any time.
 
webbykevin said:
Be better if they banned SPORT !

Billions of dollars wasted on a bunch of non contributing neanderthals.
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You're an idiot. These people have accomplished more than your cracked out ass could ever dream of.
 
Quite a lot of human physiology research goes on to help support "sport", to say that there is no science or math involved is a fallacy.

Not to mention all the researhc and data on sports injuries.
 
I like how this conversation has digressed.

Sports are an outlet for an otherwise destructive bunch of testosterone-filled people. They perpetuate capitalism directly and more importantly allow social cohesion in large society.
 
^sports are not intrinsically a capitalistic endeavor. When I lived in Cuba, sports were hugely important. Not sure if they still are, but also think back to who dominated the Olympic medal counts before 1992: besides the US: East Germany and the USSR
 
Ho-Chi-Minh said:
I like how this conversation has digressed.

Sports are an outlet for an otherwise destructive bunch of testosterone-filled people. They perpetuate capitalism directly and more importantly allow social cohesion in large society.
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Spoken like a true loser who was always picked last.

Hurry along, there are only 3 hours left until the library closes.
 
Heh, since this thread is no longer about its title: Noam Chomsky Sports Commentator
For the record, I like playing some sports, but sports fandom strikes me as one of the most destructive forces in society and culture. Play all you want, but don't have fans pouring their hearts into what can only ever really be a silly arbitrarily designed fucking game that means nothing. There are better uses for that kind of passion and free time.

Also, regarding the video, I don't think the sports fandom industry in any way is conspiratorial or has to do with the "power elite." It's just humans naturally fucking themselves out of a better existence.

EDIT: One of the YouTube comments to that Chomsky video replies:
Cheering for the home team is connected with assertion of my-tribe-conquering-the-other-tribe, and it's built into our deeper wiring. Getting people to care about sports is not some conspiracy of the global elite, it's a universal part of being human, and it has ancient, genetic precedent.
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... which would be true if the members of professional sports teams consisted of clan members playing against competing clan members and society was still structured in such a way, but it isn't, and members of professional sports teams are drafted from all over to represent a "local" team. Today professional sports represents nothing of the somewhat defensible idea the poster is alluding to, and that idea is the same essential idea that everybody is clinging to cheering in the stands, but it's utterly devoid of substance because there is no concrete association between fan and player. So what the fuck are all these people doing and what are they caring about?
 
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23536 said:
^sports are not intrinsically a capitalistic endeavor. When I lived in Cuba, sports were hugely important. Not sure if they still are, but also think back to who dominated the Olympic medal counts before 1992: besides the US: East Germany and the USSR
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Never said they were.
 
Ho-Chi-Minh said:
I like how this conversation has digressed.

Sports are an outlet for an otherwise destructive bunch of testosterone-filled people. They perpetuate capitalism directly and more importantly allow social cohesion in large society.
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Lol. Just stop. I'm laughing too hard. You are probably a fucking weakling who can't even throw a baseball more than 3 yards.

I also love how you mention capitalism as if it's supposed to be a bad thing. The motivated survive while the stupid and weak get left behind. That's how it has worked since before humans even existed and it should work that way until the end of time. Cry about it.

Busty St Clare said:
Spoken like a true loser who was always picked last.

Hurry along, there are only 3 hours left until the library closes.
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Can't believe I'd say this, but I actually....agree with you.
 
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Voxide said:
Lol. Just stop. I'm laughing too hard. You are probably a fucking weakling who can't even throw a baseball more than 3 yards.

I also love how you mention capitalism as if it's supposed to be a bad thing. The motivated survive while the stupid and weak get left behind. That's how it has worked since before humans even existed and it should work that way until the end of time. Cry about it.


Can't believe I'd say this, but I actually....agree with you.
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What?

Haha that was such an ignorant post.

I did play baseball (you're right about that at least) and I was damn good. I was very good at sports. You can certainly flame me, but I'll speak my beliefs nonetheless.

You use steroids, correct? That might explain why you over-reacted.

No offense but both of these reactions are most likely from people very into sports, lending credence to how they can perpetuate one's fanatical nature.

Capitalism is "bad", if you want to use that word, but that certainly wasn't what I was trying to get across.

Let's start with this: What is Capitalism? Do you know?

No one is crying.

Are you calling me homosexual? Haha. That's bigotry. I wasn't going to go this far, but people who call each other "fag" and what not are statistically more likely to feel insecure about their own sexuality, and acting like a bigot (do you know what that is?) furthers your stereotypical image as a brute who is a threat to democratic society.

Don't get me wrong though, its good that you express your viewpoints, if just to teach others how wrong they are.

My my, we are angry.

I won't spend much more time talking you unless you want to have a real conversation.

Peace
 
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Spoken like a true loser who was always picked last.
Hurry along, there are only 3 hours left until the library closes.
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Lol. Just stop. I'm laughing too hard. You are probably a fucking weakling who can't even throw a baseball more than 3 yards.
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That is the type of "argument" many sports fans seem to use when confronted with someone who doesn't like sports.
An attack on someone's sports abilities (as if they cared!), and implications that the person must be a nerd or "brain".

It comes from breaking down all human beings, with their (nearly) infinite creative potential and myriad of possible personalities, into "jocks" and "nerds".
This reeks of over-simplistic thinking - just the kind of thing that the anti-sports people are often protesting.
I must admit I was a bit surprised, since I had appreciated some posts by the two people I quoted above in the past, but this issue seems to get people upset.

Personally, I love sports, but I have big problems with the way that they have been commercialized, and they way people lose themselves in their support for their team.
College athletes are treated like royalty, while their university doesn't give a shit about those who attend for the purpose of study and learning.
Fans give up their individuality and turn into sheep for the purpose of getting behind the red and white.

(I have the same problem with those who mindlessly parrot attitudes such as "love of country".
Also with those who hide behind their religion and are incapable of creating their own moral compass.
To me, all such "tribal" behavior is a shirking of responsibility in a quest for ease and power.)

That said, I really enjoy playing sports, and even watching expertly-played sports - almost all sports.
Baseball, basketball, soccer, running, swimming, bicycling, olympic sports such as track and field, gymnastics, etc.
But I don't watch to get behind the team and give up myself to become a part of the bigger organism.
I do it because I appreciate the incredible talent of athletes like (the old) Ichiro, Albert Pujols, James Harden, Kobe Bryant, Bolt, Phelps, and others.

I play sports because it is fun, and exercise feels good.
Calling someone like me testosterone-ridden, or whatever was said, is very ignorant and misses the mark entirely.

I feel that I can see both perspectives pretty clearly - the sports lovers, and the sports haters - though some may feel that I am having my cake and eating it too.

In any case, let's stop the attacks and try to discuss this rationally.
Without any (more) homophobic attacks, please!
 
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