Do You Think Sha'carri Richardson Should Be Able To Run In The Olympics After A Reported Failed Drug Test?

Commentary by Mikah Davis.  Photo from The Cut.  

JUL. 23, 2021: Sha'carri Richardson is a 21-year-old African American track and field athlete who competes in the 100 and 200 meter sprints. Richardson used to attend LSU where she broke the national record and decided to go pro back in 2019. Just a few weeks ago on June 19th in Eugene, Oregon, Sha’carri ran a surprising 10.86 which qualified her for the Tokyo Olympics. However, later that day it was reported that she failed the drug test by smoking marijuana which broke the Olympic rules and disqualified her from the Olympics. And, she was not picked to run on the relay team for Team USA. Sha'carri has already been banned for a month and will not be able to run in the Olympics. People go through many things in this crazy world nowadays and resort to marijuana (weed) to help them get over those tough problems.

I feel like Sha'carri should be able to run and not just because I'm a track athlete myself. There are a lot of people in this world who smoke marijuana (weed) to escape their real-life problems. Sha’carri said she took marijuana after learning about her mother’s death. She said she was “blinded by hurt” when she heard the news of her mother’s death from a reporter. Many people seemed to criticize and bash her since she did know the rules, but I believe not all of them understood the pain of losing a mother or even a parent. I lost my father and grandmother so now my mom is all I have. And I know what I had to go through to get over that issue. 

Since marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug, I feel like she should be able to run.  If anything it would hurt her more than help. Marijuana has mind-altering compounds that affect the brain and body. Some potential medical effects could be pain, nausea, and breathing problems.

I know track athletes who smoke marijuana and it doesn't help them at all, but rules are rules. In the future, I feel like the Olympics should get rid of this rule since there will be many more problems like this. In all honesty, I would do the same thing to get over my mom dying. SHA'CARRI RICHARDSON WILL BE BACK !!!!!!!

Mikah Davis is a sophomore at Friendship Collegiate Academy.