“The last time I consumed cannabis was on Christmas Eve. Which was the week of the fight. I usually use it for sleeping, I do need to use it for inclination. I have had my medical card for over two years. It’s something I used especially because I had an injury where I had broken my arm three times in a row and needed that CBD component, no cannabis, CBD does help heal your bones and I was also having trouble sleeping for a long time. Which is a lot better than using any over the counter stuff.
It’s something I had discussed with Jeff Novitsky before I even got into the UFC. As far as the usage of marijuana [goes]. I’ve done the same thing for every single fight. I’ve been tested as soon as I get to the arena every day of my fights and it’s never been an issue before.
There’s a lot of factors that play into why I tested positive. It’s really unfortunate because I really thought I was following the rules. It just really sucks. It’s embarrassing.”
Rising UFC strawweight contender, Cynthia Calvillo has been the latest victim of USADA. Not for performance-enhancing drugs…well, that’s an opinion… But for marijuana.
Calvillo failed the drug test for her last fight which occurred at UFC 219 when she lost the first fight of her career to former UFC and Invicta champion, Carla Esparza. Calvillo was sentenced a six-month suspension from USADA but then a nine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission shortly after.
Marijuana being a banned substance has always been a grey area in MMA. The most notable case of test failures occurred with Nick Diaz who was suspended for five years after failing three drug tests. He was able to knock it down to eighteen months but the controversy remained throughout the community.
Do you believe that Calvillo’s punishment is fair?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/19/2018.
