In the mid-1980's, at least in D3, cannabis was the only banned substance that required two positive tests to trigger a sanction/DQ. The rationale was that a single positive test could plausibly be the result of second-hand exposure. Also, the NCAA explicitly stated that only those who placed in the top four at nationals would be tested.
I appreciate you sharing that history. The practical application of these rules, and the things that test administrators at the NCAA might have done to avoid creating unnecessarily punishing outcomes, are among the hardest things to track.
And - and this is more agreement with your sentiment than anything else - I did not find high profile cases where someone won an event at Nationals and then had their win vacated because of a subsequent NCAA positive test for cannabis.
Most of the really ugly stories I found didn't directly involve the NCAA. The capriciousness and abuse of power seemed to all happen at the coach/member institution level. Which is certainly no consolation for the athletes who had their careers unnecessarily and arbitrarily shortened.
In the mid-1980's, at least in D3, cannabis was the only banned substance that required two positive tests to trigger a sanction/DQ. The rationale was that a single positive test could plausibly be the result of second-hand exposure. Also, the NCAA explicitly stated that only those who placed in the top four at nationals would be tested.
I appreciate you sharing that history. The practical application of these rules, and the things that test administrators at the NCAA might have done to avoid creating unnecessarily punishing outcomes, are among the hardest things to track.
And - and this is more agreement with your sentiment than anything else - I did not find high profile cases where someone won an event at Nationals and then had their win vacated because of a subsequent NCAA positive test for cannabis.
Most of the really ugly stories I found didn't directly involve the NCAA. The capriciousness and abuse of power seemed to all happen at the coach/member institution level. Which is certainly no consolation for the athletes who had their careers unnecessarily and arbitrarily shortened.