Cannabis Metabolites Net Dave Herman Six Month UFC Suspension

What a shocker.

Dave Herman tested positive for cannabis metabolites following his submission defeat to Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira at UFC 153. A week after the test results were announced, the UFC suspended Herman for six months. According to Marc Ratner, the UFC’s VP of Regulatory Affairs who oversaw the drug testing for the Brazil event, Herman must also enter a UFC approved drug rehab program and pass a drug test before being re-instated.

Herman failed his post fight drug test, testing positive for cannabis metabolites, which can stay in the body for weeks after use. Fighters use cannabis to relax, recover, and reduce physical pain from common injuries.

The fact that the UFC itself oversaw the testing adds a wrinkle to this story. Fellow UFC fighter Nick Diaz tested positive for the same cannabis metabolites following his loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143. That event took place in Nevada where the Nevada State Athletic Commission handles the testing. The NSAC suspended Diaz for a year because he was a repeat offender and unable to produce the paperwork necessary for exemption. Diaz has a medical marijuana card in the state of California for anxiety and ADHD.

I thought this would be the end of the road for Herman in the UFC not because he tested positive for cannabis metabolites, but because he lost his last three fights. That typically puts you on a short list of fighters likely to be cut by the MMA juggernaut, and failing a drug test would seem to make that decision much easier, but the UFC kept Herman on their roster.

It probably didn’t help though that Herman isn’t a first time offender. In 2011 he was slated to fight Mike Russow at UFC 136, but the fight was cancelled at the last minute after a pre-fight drug test found cannabis metabolites in Herman’s system. Herman went on to deny using cannabis even after the fight was pulled, but he couldn’t deny it this time.

I talked about how silly it is to drug test and suspend fighters for cannabis when boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. tested positive, but it bears repeating. It’s ridiculous. Fighters are in physical pain all the time. They practice beating people up and getting beaten up on a daily basis. It baffles me when fighters are denied something that could give them an easier life. Like cancer patients or AIDS victims these fighters could benefit greatly from cannabis use, and still they’re punished for doing nothing wrong. Cannabis metabolites don’t even prove you were high at the time of the fight or even close to it, they can stay in your system for weeks at a time.

Herman joins Diaz and Matt Riddle as UFC fighters who have been suspended in the past year for the dreaded cannabis metabolites. That none of the fighters were cut from the organization is very encouraging, and shows the UFC probably has a more educated approach on cannabis than they’re given credit for. I thought Herman would get the boot just because he lost his last three fights, but I’m now rooting for this weedist to make it good in the UFC once he returns.