Can Nate Diaz Get In Trouble For Vaping CBD At UFC 202?

Can Nate Diaz Get In Trouble For Vaping CBD At UFC 202?

Aug 21, 2016 by Jim Edwards
Can Nate Diaz Get In Trouble For Vaping CBD At UFC 202?
Shortly after his epic clash in the main event with Conor McGregor last evening, Nate Diaz took part in post-fight media scrum where he openly inhaled from a vape pen that he confirmed at the time contained CBD oil.

Questions are circulating the MMA community today about whether Nate Diaz could've potentially violated USADA anti-doping program. 

Here is what we know about the situation.  


What is CBD?


CBD oil, or Cannabidiol as it also known, is a compound found in Marijuana that is being used more and more during recovery amongst athletes or people with active lifestyles. 

Amongst other benefits, CBD is used to combat inflammatory disorders, reduce nausea and vomiting and to combat neurodegenerative disorders. It's essentially marijuana without the psychoactivity, paranoia, or tiredness associated with THC.


Is Nate Diaz in trouble with USADA?


Nate Diaz should be fine as the likelihood of his vaping pushing him beyond any banned substance threshold is extremely low.
 
Technically his vaping did take place while still in competition (till 6 hours after the fight), but it's highly likely that his post-fight tests had already happened, thus there would be nothing to worry about it.

Even if Diaz was tested after, the threshold for Cannabis is 150ng/ml though an athlete can be found to be as high as 170ng/ml before the notification threshold is reached. 

Technically it is restricted, however, the tests are for Carboxy-THC and the THC levels in vaped in CBD are so low that it's highly unlikely that it would trigger anything. 


When will we find out the results of the post-fight tests?


The USADA database shows that they have historically tested the main card fighters since the program begun.

The standard time around time for USADA testing is usually around three weeks.