Northland rugby league player Samuel Henry has received a seven-month ban by the Sports Tribunal for testing positive for cannabis. Henry, who represented the Northern Swords in the national competition last year, has had his suspension backdated to November 10 after he returned a positive test following a competition game on October 6. Drug Free Sport New Zealand's director of testing and investigations Jude Ellis conceded in a statement that cannabis is not generally considered performance-enhancing. But as long as it remains on the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of banned substances, they have no choice but to act. "However while it remains prohibited in sport, we are required under the current rules to proceed with a case where a positive test for cannabis is received."

Source: Stuff February 26, 2019 06:56 UTC