Nick Diaz uses marijuana. He tells everyone that will listen to him that he uses marijuana. He has a mild disability that marijuana helps him with. Never mind that pills are probably better for him, and who knows which is best for getting hit in the head. California and Nevada have very liberal medical marijuana use laws. The UFC formerly used the expensive test that was ungodly accurate. Under the former test Diaz could have easily passed the test pre-fight, then flunked the test post-fight. Heavy marijuana users tend to store marijuana metabolites in their fat cells, and sweat them back out under stressful situations. He claimed that he stopped using marijuana eight days before his fight. His score was so low that detection should have made someone´s momma proud. That is what got Diaz a one year suspension. After the UFC got wind of the facts, [from yours truly] they started using the cheaper, less accurate test. For some reason Diaz was tested three times for a later fight. This created conflicting evidence. Big surprise.
Marijuana metabolites have a half-life. The amount of metabolites in the blood diminishes on an exponential scale. That means that it goes away really fast. Again, Diaz had low scores. Diaz was his usual disrespectful self. As is also usual, men in a position to make discretionary decisions look for a way to abuse that power. So after collecting conflicting evidence, the Nevada Athletic Commission suspends Nick Diaz for five years. Both times he opted to hire in-your-face lawyers to advocate for him. Both lawyers caused long delays when they should have asked for justice tempered with mercy. Hotly contested cases have to be prepared for, and later appealed. His license to fight has been suspended since his last fight, Jan 31 2015.
This case ¨NOW¨ should be contested in court, and this is what their decision should be:
From the very beginning the facts of this case have never been in dispute. Yet great energy and resources are being expended to establish those facts. Nick Diaz uses marijuana legally in California where he is licensed to fight. He stopped using marijuana to prepare for a drug test in Nevada where he had a fight under the authority of the Nevada Athletic Commission. For the safety of the fighter, three drug tests were taken, and they produced conflicting evidence. The scores on those tests are ¨fact¨ not ¨law.¨ They are based on the limits of accuracy for the tests. Without a fair hearing, low test scores have no consequence. The Athletic Commission must make a finding as to what evidentiary value the test scores had, and how that evidence influenced their decision. Again this case is bizarre in that the facts were never in dispute.
The disciplinary action against Nick Diaz will be dismissed. This matter will be referred to the California State Athletic Commission. Nick Diaz´s will be medically suspended until either the California Commission or the Nevada Commission rules favorably for reinstatement. Since the doctor that prescribed marijuana is licensed in the state of California, the California Commission is clearly in a better position to take evidence in this matter. State commissions typically respect each other´s opinions and support each other´s decisions without incident. Commission doctors supervise fights. It would be appropriate for these doctors to simply vote on whether or not a fighter should be allowed to use marijuana while training for a fight. So much evidence has been taken in these two hearings that a vote among commission doctors may be all that is needed for legal sufficiency.