Team manager Goolam Raja was tipped off that some of his players had smoked marijuana during the tour of the West Indies, United Cricket Board managing director Gerald Majola told Reuters.

Five players -- Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Adams, Justin Kemp, Roger Telemachus and Andre Nel -- plus physiotherapist Craig Smith were fined by the UCB after they confessed to Raja.

They told him they had used the drug in the privacy of a single room at the team hotel after the series-clinching fourth test in Antigua on April 10.

It was then agreed that the tour misconduct committee would meet and handle the position. The committee comprises Raja, coaches Graham Ford and Corrie van Zyl, captain Shaun Pollock and vice-captain Mark Boucher. The internal committee suggested a fine of 10,000 rand (US$1,255) which was ratified by UCB president Percy Sonn.

Certain officials in the UCB management believe that the fine is pretty substantial. They also believe that what they did was a silly consequence of the celebrations after winning the test series. They believe that those individuals have paid for their mistakes.

Our “ambassadors” to the West Indies was our South African Cricket Team.  They were there to project and uphold a positive image of South Africa. There are certain do’s and don’ts when on tour within any sporting code, and one of the most important don’ts is not to do anything to put yourself, your team and your country in disrepute.

Members of the team are role models for so many young South Africans. The children of South Africa look up to these individuals and strive to achieve what they have achieved. The young mind is vulnerable and by certain members of the South African cricket team caught smoking marijuana they passing on a message to children that if you smoke marijuana, you can be where we are, representing your country!

These individuals got off lightly. The management of the South African Cricket Team should be questioned to there handling of the situation. They should have sent these players home and suspended them until a meeting with the Sporting minister, UCB officials and the South African Cricket team management could be held to decide on a more appropriate actions to be taken against the players.

Marijuana

“Doping” is the term used for the use of prohibited substances and/or methods to enhance either sporting performance or recovery. Doping contravenes the ethics of both sport and medicine. It is cheating and contrary to the spirit of fair competition.

 Drug misuse can be harmful to an athlete's health or to other sportsmen competing against them. It severely damages the integrity, image and value of sport.

Marijuana is a mixture of dried shredded flowers and leaves from the hemp plant. Its scientific name is Cannibis Sativa. There are more than 200 slang names for marijuana. It can be referred to as pot, herb, weed, chronic and reefer, to name a few.

Marijuana is mind altering. It contains a natural chemical called TCH, which is the active main ingredient. Marijuana is usually smoked and fatty tissues in some organs of the body absorb the TCH. It has not been known to cause physical addiction and withdrawal symptoms, but it has been known to cause people to become psychologically addicted: to feel like they need marijuana in order to cope with everyday life.

According to the National Institute of Health, some of the effects of smoking marijuana are:

·          Problems with memory and learning.

·          Distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, and touch).

·          Trouble with thinking and problem solving.

·          Loss of coordination.

·          Increased heart rate, anxiety, panic attacks.

Marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug, it does not give an energetic edge, it does not make your muscles artificially stronger. Marijuana affects the co-ordination of the athlete as well as leads to irrational behaviour, disorientation and paranoia. Research has shown that this "social drug" quite often leads to addiction to stronger drugs and, as such, is banned by several sports.

Given the status of Marijuana as a "restricted" drug on the IOC list, is however not directly related to doping, but rather to a perception that the image of the sport is being harmed.

Now does the UCB still think that the fine was substantial enough?

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