World Athletics president says marijuana policies should be reconsidered 1 year after Sha'Carri Richardson's missed Olympics

• World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told Insider that he thinks it's time to reconsider marijuana policies in sports.
• Coe said he has encouraged the Athletic Integrity Unit to have "thoughts and suggestions" on revising the policy.

It's time for the World Anti-Doping Agency and national anti-doping agencies to reconsider marijuana policies, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told Insider.

"I have actually encouraged our own Athletics Integrity Unit to enter into discussions with the World-Anti Doping Agency, and obviously the national anti-doping agencies, to look at this and to come back with some thoughts and suggestions," Coe said.

The comments come on the eve of track and field's World Championships, which began Thursday in Eugene, Oregon.

They also come just a little more than a year after American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson tested positive for marijuana, rendering her ineligible for the Tokyo Olympics because of a one-month suspension.

Richardson's situation sparked outrage in the sports world, especially as she revealed that she had taken marijuana to cope with her mother's death.

As more and more American states legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational use, Coe said sporting agencies must adapt to an evolving world.

"Look, we do have to recognize the world that we live in," Coe said.

"I'm not making a pronouncement at this moment, but I have encouraged some fresh thinking around this space, because it's clear to me that that discussion is timely."

Coe had expressed similar thoughts last July from Tokyo.

"It is sensible, as nothing is set in tablets of stone," he said. "You adapt and occasionally reassess."

Experts have called THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, a "gray area" as it relates to sports performance, as some believe it can help with recovery and pain relief.

Several major American sports leagues have relaxed marijuana policies, from no longer punishing athletes who test positive to not testing for it at all, according to Axios.