Voters want marijuana, but keep it out of sports

• Colorado and Washington votes in favor of recreational use
• USOC, NBA and other leagues say marijuana still banned
• Sports must continue to police self even if more laws are passed

The U.S. Olympic Committee found itself Wednesday morning at the center of the new national conversation created by the statewide votes in Colorado and Washington to legalize the use of marijuana. The USOC is headquartered in Colorado Springs. It oversees the playing of dozens of sports by hundreds of far-flung young athletes, all of whom have the added responsibility of representing not only themselves but their nation. The organization also is in the business of making sure they compete fairly and cleanly, which is why all kinds of illegal drugs, performance-enhancing and otherwise, are banned.

So what's a national Olympic committee to do when faced with a ground-breaking, definitely challenging and perhaps even somewhat humorous new law in the state where it is located?

Nothing.

"Nothing is changing," USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky said over the phone Wednesday afternoon. "Marijuana is currently a substance that is banned in competition and will continue to be so. Also, we're talking about world-class athletes who are looking to succeed and are focused on doing the best thing for their training, and there's no reason to believe that's going to change based on any specific law. So nothing changes for us."

The USOC was joined Wednesday by a cacophony of prominent, intelligent voices around the sports world, all of them singing almost exactly the same tune. "Marijuana remains prohibited," said the NFL. The NBA's statement was nearly identical. The NCAA's too, although it explained that its drug policies are not tied specifically to the law, but to "student-athlete health and safety or the integrity of the game."

Legally, historically and culturally, Tuesday's decision by voters in Colorado and Washington appears to be a pretty big deal, a harbinger, perhaps, of an increasing national leniency toward marijuana. But that attitude does not extend to the playing field, nor should it.

Tuesday's election posed a basic question, similar to the one that resulted from the downfall of Lance Armstrong: Do we want clean sport, or do we not? Is it important for athletes who represent our cities and country and become role models for our kids to compete with integrity and without drugs, or is it not?

Since hundreds of sports organizations and thousands of athletes around the world have answered in the affirmative for more than a generation, there can be no place in athletics for marijuana. It's as simple as that.

"People who are laughing about marijuana believe it's purely a recreational drug," international doping expert Gary Wadler said in a phone interview. "No one is suggesting it's a steroid or growth hormone, but it can have an effect on performance by decreasing anxiety. You may dive into a pool with more abandon, if you will, if you're on marijuana because it takes away that fear factor."

Even though U.S. federal law says that marijuana is still illegal in all 50 states, there are sure to be challenges ahead as athletes test the boundaries of state law. The moment the law passed Tuesday night, for example, Twitter was abuzz with jokes that all NBA players were now hoping to be traded to the Denver Nuggets.

We can laugh all we want, but USA Swimming, also headquartered in Colorado Springs, showed exactly what any sports organization should do if one of its athletes is caught smoking pot: suspend him or her.

This isn't a hypothetical situation. In February 2009, a photograph surfaced of Michael Phelps smoking marijuana at a party at the University of South Carolina just three months after he won his eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Once Phelps confirmed that the photo was real, USA Swimming kicked him out of the sport for three months.

Phelps didn't fight the suspension. "I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," he said. "For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

State law, past, present or future, wouldn't have mattered one bit. This was a case of a sport policing itself, which is exactly as it should be no matter what the voters decide.