Nate Diaz’s request for a marijuana exemption from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations has been denied.
The Stockton Samurai is scheduled for an August 5 clash with ‘The Problem Child’ Jake Paul at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Diaz will be making his professional boxing debut but was dealt a blow ahead of the bout when it was revealed that he would be subject to testing for performance-enhancing and recreational drugs, including marijuana. Anyone who is familiar with Nate Diaz or his brother, Nick, Diaz, knows that the two are quite fond of recreational marijuana use, often flaunting it at events, press conferences, and even while submitting a test to the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
While most combat sports organizations and USADA have become more relaxed when it comes to fighters testing positive for marijuana metabolites, Texas continues to be a zero-tolerance state. With his bout against Jake Paul being regulated by the TDLR, Nate Diaz will be subject to drug testing by both the TDLR and the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, or VADA.
"WAIT, WHAT HAPPENED?"
Nate Diaz was thrown for a loop hearing about Texas' zero tolerance policy on marijuana.
#PaulDiaz | Faceoff video: https://t.co/tmyRBQbiZy pic.twitter.com/pbLPSqTNkj
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 9, 2023
“We will be working with VADA on testing prior to the fight and will be in compliance with all VADA rules, as well as the rules and regulations set forth by TDLR,” Real Fight, Inc. President and Diaz manager Zach Rosenfield told High Times via MMA Mania.
Nate Diaz joked that his fight with Jake Paul should be scuttled to California
Upon learning about Texas’ strict rules against marijuana, Nate Diaz suggested the fight move to California.
Whether or not Nate Diaz abstains from his first love, Mary Jane, remains to be seen, but in reality, the consequences of continuing to partake would not amount to much if he chooses not to pursue a professional boxing career beyond his August 5 debut. Should he win the bout, Diaz’s victory would be overturned by the TDLR, but he would still pocket a whole lot of money en route to a potential return to the Octagon where marijuana use is no longer an issue.