The 2022 Winter Olympics are about to start in Beijing, and there has been a lot of attention paid to these games already, from the strict COVID-19 protocols that will be in place to concerns over China’s human rights record. But there’s one issue that comes up at nearly every Olympic Games: drug testing. 

In a few memorable cases, athletes have been penalized after testing positive for cannabis—a drug that normally isn’t considered performance enhancing. Attitudes toward cannabis have changed dramatically over the past couple of decades, but less so for professional athletes. It’s been twenty-four years since Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati won gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics, in Nagano, Japan, only to be temporarily stripped of his medal hours later, after testing positive for marijuana. Now that cannabis is legal in several parts of the world, can weed and sports finally coexist? 

This week, we hear from Alex Cyr, who recently wrote about the relationship between professional sports and weed. He’s a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Life. Sheena Rossiter speaks with Cyr about his story on how the world of sport is reconciling its relationship with cannabis.

We hear about why Cyr decided to write about professional sports and its relationship with weed.

We hear about the case of American 100-metre sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. 

Then we hear about the case of Ross Rebagliati and Cyr’s interview with the former Olympian.

After that, we hear about what Cyr is watching right now.

Finally, we check in on five things we’re talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Athletes Are Getting Burned by Weed Rules. Is the Sports World Out of Touch? 
• For the Love of the Game 
• The Sports Collectible Market Is Booming. Is It about the Money or the Memories?
• Why Olympians Are Struggling to Get Sponsorships



• Punching Nazis Won’t End Fascism
• Links to stories about Black History Month 

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Shayne Giles.

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab, “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music, and “Unreleased Demo” provided by Pixabay.

Additional audio clips come from TSN, The Young Turks, the International Olympic Committee, Leno, and LetsRun.com on YouTube.