Alex Gazan took 1st place at the World Fitness Project Tour Stop 1 two weeks ago. This week, Talking Elite Fitness interviewed Alex Gazan. In the interview, published today, Gazan spoke about her difficulty sleeping at times.
Gazan said that on Saturday night while competing at the World Fitness Project Tour Stop 1 earlier this month, she took a “micro dose THC gummy” to help her sleep.
Gazan did not mention the brand of gummy she took, but shared it’s “mostly CBD but it has a little bit [of THC].”
She then followed it up with, “Will [Moorad] nixed that out of the in-competition rules so you’re allowed to.”
Wait, WHAT?
That statement got me thinking…is THC banned by the CrossFit Games and/or the World Fitness Project’s Drug Testing Program?
Let’s take a look at what I found…
World Fitness Project Drug-Free Sport Policy & Program
In the 2025 World Fitness Project rulebook, page 2 includes a section of its Anti-Doping Policy. That section has a link to its Drug Testing Policy.
Clicking that link takes you to an 18-page document titled, “WFP Drug-Free Sport Policy & Program”.
That document outlines the drug testing protocol, in- and out-of-competition drug testing, testing pool information, sanctions following a violation of the policy, appeals and therapeutic-use exemption details.
Then on page 10 in Appendix A, it lists the classes of drugs that are banned at all times and classes of drugs that are banned “in competition”. The list matches word-for-word that of the CrossFit Games drug testing policy (more on that below).
As you can see above, Cannabinoids are banned “in competition”. The World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) defines in-competition (page 3) as the period starting at 11:59 p.m. the night before a competition through to the end of competition and sample collection process.
Looking at what Cannabinoids are banned by WADA, it clearly states that cannabis, natural and synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols (THCs) and synthetic cannabinoids that mimic the effects of THC are banned.
The exception is Cannabidiol. CBD falls under this category and is not banned by WADA.
Gazan admitted she took a micro dose THC and CBD gummy on Saturday night, which then falls inside the definition of “in competition”.
WADA states that a urine sample is considered positive for THC if it contains carboxy-THC above 150 ng/mL.
We don’t know what kind of gummy Gazan took, thus we don’t know how much THC was consumed. A generic Google search says that microdosing typically starts around 1-2.5mg of THC.
Note: there are 1,000,000 nanograms in 1 milligram.
So while Gazan admits she took THC, it does not guarantee that she would trigger a positive result during a drug test.Â
What about Will?
I think the more concerning statement is that Gazan said Will Moorad, Director of Sport for the WFP, told her that he “nixed that out of the in-competition rules.”Â
The problem is that the official WFP rulebook still states that THC is banned from in-competition use.
We do know that the WFP did conduct in-competition drug tests in Indianapolis. However, Moorad’s statement now calls into question whether they will enforce their own anti-doping rules if Gazan’s sample came back over the threshold.
This situation is also concerning in that, who did Moorad tell this to. If only some athletes were made aware that the WFP would look the other way if someone tested positive for THC, others would be at a disadvantage if they did not have this information and were following the WFP rulebook.
Could Gazan Have a TUE?
Athletes do have the ability to apply for a TUE, or Therapeutic-Use Exemption. There are necessary criteria that an athlete must meet to receive a TUE. Because of the medical nature of these TUEs, these are confidential in nature and are not disclosed to the public.
Given how Gazan spoke about Moorad “nixing” THC from the rulebook, it seems unlikely, but it cannot be ruled out that Gazan is allowed to take THC in-competition because of a TUE.
Could this violate the CrossFit Games Drug Policy?
This is where it gets into the gray area.
The WFP is not a sanctioned CrossFit competition. Because of this, Gazan did not take THC while competing at a CrossFit Games event.
However, CrossFit does state that it may “recognize drug-policy violations, including positive drug tests, reported by other national anti-doping organizations from in-competition or out-of-competition testing performed by these agencies on behalf of other sports governing bodies.”
If you remember last year, we reported that Masters athlete Marcha van Glaanen Weygel failed a drug test while competing at the 2021 European Masters Championship and was currently serving a four-year sanction. Following that article, CrossFit upheld the IMWA’s sanction and Glaanen Weygel was not allowed to compete at the 2024 Masters CrossFit Games.
CrossFit would likely recognize a sanction imposed by the WFP in this scenario. But what if the WFP does not issue a sanction? Does Gazan’s admission of use during a competition trigger an anti-doping violation? Does it matter if that competition was not part of the CrossFit Games season?
Honestly, I am not sure how CrossFit would handle such a situation.
Final Thoughts
It is pretty wild that Alex Gazan would admit that she potentially used a banned substance like THC on a podcast. It is more concerning, in my opinion, that she said Will Moorad told her he “nixed” that out of the rules despite the rules saying otherwise.
If Gazan does not have a TUE, and Moorad told her that the WFP will not abide by its own rules set forth in the rulebook, that is a major problem. It calls into question whether the WFP will make a drug policy violation public, if that ever occurs.
We obviously do not have all the information. We don’t know the amount of THC Gazan ingested on Saturday night of the WFP or if she would cross the allowed threshold set by WADA or if she has a Therapeutic-Use Exemption.
But, regardless, this situation calls into question the need for transparency of drug testing by the sport organizations like the WFP and CrossFit Games. Additionally, athletes need to be aware of what is and is not allowed per the drug testing policies of these organizations.
While CBD is allowed, THC is becoming more and more common. And while THC is allowed outside of competition, athletes need to be aware that it is not permitted to be used while competing.
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