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Join date : 2011-11-19
Nick Diaz camp issues second response to NSAC's UFC 143 complaint, hearing not set
Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:46 am
In a second legal response to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Nick Diaz's camp has again attacked the foundation of a disciplinary complaint against the fighter following a failed drug test at UFC 143.
The response repeats an earlier claim by Diaz's Las Vegas-based attorney, Ross Goodman, that the marijuana metabolites prompted his failed test aren't banned by the commission.
It also fires back at an amended NSAC complaint filed March 27 that alleges Diaz lied when he failed to disclose his use of medical marijuana on a pre-fight medical questionnaire.
"Absent a finding that Diaz intended to deceive the commission in providing the answers he did, it is not open to the commission to find that Diaz provided 'false or misleading' information," the complaint states.
Diaz (27-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Condit (28-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in an interim welterweight title bout at UFC 143, which took place Feb. 4 in Las Vegas. He was placed under temporary suspension when a post-fight drug test revealed the presence of marijuana metabolites.
According to NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer, Diaz has not been scheduled to answer for the NSAC's complaint at the commission's next meeting, which is scheduled for April 24 in Las Vegas. Kizer said the Nevada Attorney General's office awaits a copy of Diaz's medical-marijuana card.
That card is ultimately related to Goodman's earlier claim that Diaz was being truthful when he left blank questions asking him about previous illnesses and his use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs two weeks prior to the fight. As he previously told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), medical marijuana patients receive doctor's recommendations – and not prescriptions – to use the drug, which is illegal by federal law but permitted by many state governments. Thus, he believes Diaz wasn't lying when he left the questions blank.
However, the NSAC's amended complaint states an affidavit given by Diaz – attached to Goodman's original response to the disciplinary complaint – proves he misled the commission. By admitting to his status as a medical-marijuana patient in California and his use of medical marijuana within two weeks of the fight, Diaz – by the Golden State's own laws – not only suffers from a serious medical illness but was untruthful about his use.
Goodman counters that Diaz has long suffered from attention deficit disorder and wasn't ultimately qualified to state whether it was a serious illness. Likewise, he claims the commission "should have expected" the answers given that the questions weren't specifically explained in the pre-fight questionnaire.
The complaint and subsequent response also spotlight the findings of Diaz's post-fight test, on which Goodman and the commission unsurprisingly disagree. Goodman claims the NSAC doesn't prohibit "inactive" marijuana metabolites, and that these metabolites in and of themselves aren't drugs. Further, he claims Diaz's use falls under "out-of-competition" standards for marijuana set by the World Anti-Doping Agency and recognized by the NSAC.
The NSAC, on the other hand, cites the positive post-fight drug test as proof that Diaz used marijuana "in-competition" and thus violated commission and WADA statutes. It recommends several punishments, including fines, action against Diaz's license, payment of attorney and investigative fees, a clean drug test on his next license application, and others as the commission sees fit.
In any event, the stage has been set for a showdown should Diaz be scheduled for the April 24 meeting.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/28200/nick-diaz-camp-issues-second-response-to-nsacs-ufc-143-complaint-hearing-not-set.mma
The response repeats an earlier claim by Diaz's Las Vegas-based attorney, Ross Goodman, that the marijuana metabolites prompted his failed test aren't banned by the commission.
It also fires back at an amended NSAC complaint filed March 27 that alleges Diaz lied when he failed to disclose his use of medical marijuana on a pre-fight medical questionnaire.
"Absent a finding that Diaz intended to deceive the commission in providing the answers he did, it is not open to the commission to find that Diaz provided 'false or misleading' information," the complaint states.
Diaz (27-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Condit (28-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in an interim welterweight title bout at UFC 143, which took place Feb. 4 in Las Vegas. He was placed under temporary suspension when a post-fight drug test revealed the presence of marijuana metabolites.
According to NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer, Diaz has not been scheduled to answer for the NSAC's complaint at the commission's next meeting, which is scheduled for April 24 in Las Vegas. Kizer said the Nevada Attorney General's office awaits a copy of Diaz's medical-marijuana card.
That card is ultimately related to Goodman's earlier claim that Diaz was being truthful when he left blank questions asking him about previous illnesses and his use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs two weeks prior to the fight. As he previously told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), medical marijuana patients receive doctor's recommendations – and not prescriptions – to use the drug, which is illegal by federal law but permitted by many state governments. Thus, he believes Diaz wasn't lying when he left the questions blank.
However, the NSAC's amended complaint states an affidavit given by Diaz – attached to Goodman's original response to the disciplinary complaint – proves he misled the commission. By admitting to his status as a medical-marijuana patient in California and his use of medical marijuana within two weeks of the fight, Diaz – by the Golden State's own laws – not only suffers from a serious medical illness but was untruthful about his use.
Goodman counters that Diaz has long suffered from attention deficit disorder and wasn't ultimately qualified to state whether it was a serious illness. Likewise, he claims the commission "should have expected" the answers given that the questions weren't specifically explained in the pre-fight questionnaire.
The complaint and subsequent response also spotlight the findings of Diaz's post-fight test, on which Goodman and the commission unsurprisingly disagree. Goodman claims the NSAC doesn't prohibit "inactive" marijuana metabolites, and that these metabolites in and of themselves aren't drugs. Further, he claims Diaz's use falls under "out-of-competition" standards for marijuana set by the World Anti-Doping Agency and recognized by the NSAC.
The NSAC, on the other hand, cites the positive post-fight drug test as proof that Diaz used marijuana "in-competition" and thus violated commission and WADA statutes. It recommends several punishments, including fines, action against Diaz's license, payment of attorney and investigative fees, a clean drug test on his next license application, and others as the commission sees fit.
In any event, the stage has been set for a showdown should Diaz be scheduled for the April 24 meeting.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/28200/nick-diaz-camp-issues-second-response-to-nsacs-ufc-143-complaint-hearing-not-set.mma
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