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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The Nevada State Athletic Commission officially voted to hand Nick Diaz a temporary suspension stemming from his failed drug test for marijuana metabolites at UFC 143. According to a report from MMAFighting.com, the suspension was requested by Nevada deputy attorney general Christopher Eccles and unanimously approved. The current suspension ranges from now until a formal disciplinary hearing for the case, which could come as early as the NSAC's April meeting.
The commission has requested notes and minutes from Diaz's first failed test for marijuana in 2007, as well as information on all earnings from his UFC 143 bout with Carlos Condit. That means Diaz will need to address both of his failed tests at a hearing, and could be subjected to a significant fine taking into account all monies earned out of this second failed test.
Additionally, the commission is expecting to address a potential request for a retroactive therapeutic use exemption from Diaz's camp, citing his prescription for marijuana in his home state of California.
Also, the report states that Diaz has hired Las Vegas attorney Ross Goodman to represent him during the disciplinary hearing.
Penick's Analysis: This was just the formal process to make a temporary suspension official, and was simply the next step in the process. Diaz is smart to hire an attorney to represent him in this hearing, and he'll be looking to make a compelling argument to the commission as to why he shouldn't be punished for having marijuana metabolites in his system. He has to have a compelling case, because their precedent of a 40% fine for a second offense would be a massive, massive monetary blow considering the pay-per-view cut he earned from the event and any other bonuses he may have received. Of course, a fine of that magnitude may also lead to a major backlash against the NSAC if that's the route they go, but the situation is once again on hold until April.
[Nick Diaz art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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