ASP to implement drug testing

wow, that is pretty big news and interesting...

Performance enhancing drugs seems like an easy route, but testing marijuana use on a surf culture that is centered in california, where now a days it is super easy to get a hold of pot legally.. hmmm, that could be a harder sell.

What do you guys think?

 

testing for performance enhancing drugs seems like a legitimate idea (even though doesnt seem like too many surfers are juicing), but testing for recreational drugs is another story.

testing for recreational drugs (in addition to reinforcing the corrupt ideology of the war on drugs, which goes against what 99% of surfers in the world stand for, not that we promote drug use but we tend to be against stupid policies like marijuana prohibition which hurt more people than they help) doesnt make any sense. Pot isnt going to help anyone win a surf competion. Remember Ross Rebagliati in the 1998 winter olympics? how was marijuana giving him a competitive edge in snowboarding?

 

maybe it doesnt want another incident like what happened recently with you know who. that is pretty bad press for a sport that is still trying to grow

 

After AI they should test for harmful recreational drugs ie not weed.

 

Ya, they didn't specify any details yet, so perhaps that is what they will do...

 

I think its not only healthy and elevates the sports profile (competitions side) , but also is an excellent marketing tool. Imagine being able to market to larger companies and corporations outside the surfing companies with the point that the athletes competitive standard is similar to that of Olympians, etc. Make sense to me... Further, regardless if they want to be or not...they're role models for a ton of kids...time to step up and illustrate/model behavior/citizenry.

As well if a pro's desire is to emphasize the so-called "freedom" ethos of surfing...then go for it...tons of photo-pros/bros and free surfers are already doing it.

 

i agree there is definitly a distinction between chronic and "hard" dangerous drugs, and the autopsy reports following AI's death may be influencing this. We dont want anyone damaging their own life or the sports image through recreational use of harder drugs. But the ASP cant really say were only going to test for cocaine, meth, heroin, oxycondin etc. because in doing so it is taking a de facto pro marijuana stance.

I personally see nothing wrong with such a stance, and think marijuana (for better or for worse) has brought more people to the sport and indirectly sold more surfboards and surf gear than a squeaky clean image ever would. But i dont see the ASP being able to do that.

 

Prohibition is a big, dumb, and very expensive failure. It is brutal. It puts prejudice before people. The “war on drugs” is responsible for more death, destruction and despair than any other war. History has shown that prohibition creates far more problems than it solves. In the 21st century we should expect far better solutions from our policy makers and governments.

 

Testing for recreational drugs would not be a popular option for surfing, but I think it would help the sport as well as the athletes. Who knows - maybe this could have saved AI...

Plus what % of surfers compete on the world tour - .002%?

To me it's a pretty fair trade off:
-Get high and surf crowded lineups all you want.
-Want to surf on the world tour? Want to surf the best waves all of the world with only one or two other people in water? Want to get paid for that? Then you can't get high.

Is this really even an issue? I know if I had the opportunity to do what these guys do everyday I wouldn't even miss the occasional bowl or seven.

 

And this is not any indication of my view on marijuana legalization or the war on drugs. Just think of it from the Association of Surfing Professionals perspective (ASP) they really can't be pro recreational drugs by not testing for the 'fun' ones or the ones the guys on tour like.
If you want to drug test, you need to test for everything.

 

in theory the ASP could test for whatever it wants to test for. the issue is that while surfing is a sport, it is also an industry. we all know there is a big difference between marijuana and cocaine as far as recreational drugs do and marijuana and steroids as far as recreational vs. performance enhancing. But to stay competitve as an industry and have its events welcomed into cities around the world the ASP/surf industry cant do anything which would endorse drug use.

this is all just conjecture on our parts and really has no impact on the average surfer who is at liberty to fire one up on the parking lot pre and post session

 

Thank god, I'll never have to worry about it.

 

I dont think they are testing for recreatational drugs because they think weed is going to help anyone surf better.

Besides, if they thought that, then by definition those recreational drugs would be considered performance enhancing drugs.

Its about the money, not performance.

 

amen i couldn't have said it better myself

 

This won't stop people from smoking weed on the tour. There are a lot of ways to get around a drug test for marijuana. unless they use hair. well kelly doesn't have to worry about this either way haha

 

If they aren't using roids or blood doping, then who cares? Let them test positive for whatever recreational drugs they want, we all know those can only hurt their abilities.

 

My 2 Cents:

The war on drugs: yes, I do believe it's not working and probably not even worth "fighting" because it won't ever be won, at least not through the DEA.

HOWEVER, drug testing for ANY job is different. Just because it's legal doesn't mean employers should have to accept it. If I were to found a company, I would do everything in my power to not hire people who use drugs. The same goes for alcoholics. "Legal" does not imply "professional" or even "socially acceptable" in many cases. There's a lot of considerations, and all organizations don't need to have the same rules. To demand that the ASP accept drug use among its professional surfers is ridiculous. I personally do not care about the competitive side of surfing. The absence of "rules" in the traditional sense is why surfing appealed to me in the first place. A professional tour is different. If the ASP wants to demand that it's members not do coke, that is their right. Period. You may not agree with it, and that's fine, but to argue they have no right to make this rule is just crazy. If I owned a surf company, I would make that very clear to my sponsored folks. I probably wouldn't test them, but if they got caught with possession or got a DUI, they'd be history. It's not about micro-managing lifestyles. It's about projecting an image to your audience. I loved AI, but it's tragic to know that his legacy is now haunted by drug issues. Most of the best surfers I met in Hawaii smoked a little weed, but very few of them did much else. That's because that sh!t destroys your body and your surfing. Take someone like Garrett McNamara or Gerry Lopez or Laird Hamilton or Kelly Slater. The guys who are past mid-30's and still ripping are able to do that because they live healthy. If I were a surfing marketer, that's the lifestyle I'd want to encourage. Look at all the people who have fallen on their faces due (at least in part) due to drug use:

Andy Irons, Flea, Anthony Ruffo, Buttons, Occi, MP, Butch Van Artsdalen, Archy, Shawn Briley, Christian Fletcher, Jeff Hakman, and many others.
Some of these guys survived, but the ones that did are all very honest about how the drugs had a negative impact on their surfing.
You can also read Peter Mel's stories. He's pretty candid about past issues and the benefits of staying clean.