A company that makes a marijuana breath testing device is pitching its services to boxing and mixed marital arts (MMA) associations as a way to assess recent cannabis use by fighters.
“Combat sports involve split-second decision making, reaction time, hand-eye coordination, balance, situational awareness and athlete safety,” Cannabix Technologies Inc. said in a press release. “Unlike traditional specimen testing that can detect cannabis use long after potential effects have subsided, breath-based THC testing is designed to focus on recent use closer to the time of competition, training or incident review.”
Attendees at the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports’s annual conference in Orlando will hear a 30-minute presentation about the Cannabix device on Tuesday.
The event is aimed at combat sports regulators, athletic commissioners, referees and other stakeholders involved in professional boxing, MMA and other combative sports.
Cannabix describes its Marijuana Breath Test as a rapid and “non-invasive” way to detect recent use of cannabis as a growing number of jurisdictions within the U.S. and internationally enact legalization laws and as “athletic commissions and sanctioning organizations are increasingly faced with the challenge of balancing athlete rights, public safety and competitive integrity.”
Rav Mlait, Cannabix’s CEO, said that “combat sports regulators and athletic commissions are looking for practical tools that improve athlete safety while addressing the realities of evolving cannabis laws.”
“Engaging the Marijuana Breath Test directly with this audience allows us to reach potential end users, demonstrate the value of recent-use breath testing and advance discussions around real-world deployment,” he said.
Jerry Crosby, president of Omega Laboratories, Cannabix’s strategic laboratory partner, said that “the value of breath testing is that it can provide more time relevant information than traditional testing methods in settings where drug use timing matters.”
“For combat sports, where athlete safety, reaction time and medical decision-making are critical, recent-use testing supported by laboratory confirmation can give regulators a more practical tool for cannabis-related evaluations,” Crosby, who will lead the presentation at the conference, said.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) removed marijuana from its banned substances list for athletes in 2023.
The following year, however, UFC warned fighters competing in California to “immediately” stop using cannabis after a state athletics commission said they could face penalties under state rules for testing positive for THC over a certain limit ahead of an upcoming event.
Also in 2024, officials in Nevada, where many combat sports events are held, adopted a rule change that will protect athletes from being penalized for using or possessing marijuana in compliance with state law.
