MLB: and players thought they could smoke the chronic

Major League Baseball is loosening its stranglehold on testing for marijuana on MLB players just as long as it is kept out of the workplace.

The offseason just keeps getting better for the commissioner’s office. Over the offseason, they decided to no longer have marijuana on the banned-substance list for MLB players. Last week they sent a memo to players stating players would still be subject to discipline for using or possessing the drug.

In the past, players at the major league level who tested positive for marijuana would be fined by the league office. However, at the minor league level, players could face suspension for the same offense. Minor league players are being paid peanuts compared to their major league counterparts, and, if caught, they face harsher penalties.

This year, under the new drug agreement, Major League Baseball jettisoned the policy at both the major and minor league levels.

Therefore, players can smoke the cheeba and not worry about facing any penalties. Well, not exactly. In the memo sent out by MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem, players who appear to be under the influence of marijuana during games, practices, workouts, meetings, anywhere affiliated with the baseball team or stadium, will have to undergo a “mandatory evaluation”.

The evaluation will determine if the player needs to enter a treatment program. There appears to be some gray area in the matter. Major League Baseball is not advocating for the use of marijuana, they are just looking the other way unless it makes its way to the ballpark.

Recreational marijuana is legal in cities with twelve major league ball clubs. By loosening the restrictions on how marijuana use will be monitored, MLB is keeping up with the times in that this drug is socially accepted. This is not the Pittsburgh Cocaine Trials of the early 1980s when drug dealers were common place in the locker room.