The Weekly Wrap: Aug. 15 - Aug. 21

Diaz Seeks Exemption

A week after Nick Diaz failed to appear for a drug test that caused the cancellation of his Strikeforce fight with Jay Hieron, his camp is working with California licensing officials to create a "therapeutic exemption" that would allow the Stockton native to use marijuana during training camp.

Diaz has publicly acknowledged he uses marijuana to counter the effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. His trainer Cesar Gracie told Sherdog.com that Diaz is seeking a provision allowed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which drug tests Olympic athletes, to allow an athlete to take a banned substance if it is strictly for therapeutic purposes. Athletic commission official Bill Douglas told Sherdog.com that such a program could be established in the state, but would take time and have to be approved by the five-person board. While marijuana with a prescription is decriminalized to a degree in California, employers are still allowed to terminate employees for using the drug on or off the job. In March 2008, the California commission did not allow Diaz to fight Jae Suk Lim for EliteXC after he had admitted on pre-fight paperwork that he used marijuana to treat his ADHD.

Gracie said Diaz, 28, prefers to take marijuana instead of Ritalin, a common anti-ADHD drug that Diaz has had a prescription for since childhood. Nevada’s commission set something of a precedent in 2007 when they overturned Diaz's win over Takanori Gomi because he had marijuana in his system during the fight. The argument was that the drug helped dull the pain of any punishment Gomi administered, and thus gave Diaz an unfair advantage. There is a general safety concern that a fighter's reflexes, and thus his defense against punishment, would be dulled by marijuana use.

While working out stateside licensing requirements, Diaz is seeking a fight in Japan, where there is no drug testing. Gracie told Sherdog.com that talks are underway for Diaz to fight on one of two Dream cards that are scheduled in October, possibly against Hayato Sakurai. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said he is committed to making the Diaz vs. Hieron fight, and would aim for November or December. Hieron is said to have turned down a UFC contract after the collapse of Affliction to sign with Strikeforce. Showtime executive Ken Hershman said the network is high on Diaz's potential as a star, but needs to be sure he's reliable before investing marketing resources in him.

Gracie said Pro Elite, the defunct company Diaz fought for under the EliteXC banner, had worked out an arrangement with former athletic commission director Armando Garcia that allowed Diaz to use marijuana, so long as it was cleared out of his system in time for tests administered the weekend of a fight. The state promulgated new rules recently that allow them to test license applicants at any time without warning. Diaz, like Josh Barnett, was targeted for one of the tests because he had a prior failure on his record in Nevada. If Diaz had failed the test, he would not have been allowed to apply for a California license for one year.

The discussion took place on the same week that a fighter on a major MMA card flunked a test for performance enhancing drugs. Cole Province tested positive for Methasterone, a steroid, after his victory over Fredson Paixao at WEC 42 on Aug. 9. Province admitted to Sherdog.com that he ingested the substance through a nutritional supplement that he took to “get some extra water into my muscles.” A penalty has not yet been decided.