Major Leage Baseball has decided to stop testing minor league players for cannabis per a new report.
MLB would also remove marijuana from the league’s list of banned substances for minor-league players, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Players on the 40-man roster are not tested for marijuana, but non-40-man roster minor leaguers are, and several are suspended for marijuana use each season. There were 13 such suspensions in 2019.
Under the current drug agreement non-40-man roster minor leaguers are suspended 25 games for their first positive test for a “drug of abuse,” 50 games for a second positive test, 100 games for a third positive test, and are banned for life for a fourth positive test. Former Brewers reliever Jeremy Jeffress is among the notable players suspended three times for marijuana use in the minors.
The news comes on the heels that MLB was looking to remove various minor league clubs.