Last year the NCAA cut the penalty in half for student athletes who tested positive for recreational drugs such as marijuana at its championship events. It was a big step in the right direction as the stigma surrounding these recreational drugs has begun to dissipate. It also continues a trend set by at least one-third of the Power Five conference schools who are not punishing their student athletes as harshly as they were a decade ago for these same violations.
This is a smart move for an organization with its roots firmly planted in the idea of “amateurism” but continues to come under scrutiny for their hypocritical policies that render its student athletes powerless, broke, and sometime hungry all while coaches salaries sore and TV deals reach record highs.
