The first ever Olympic gold medal for snowboarding has finally been returned to its rightful owner, the Canadian Ross Rebagliati.

The Committee for the Arbitration of Sports unanimously agreed that the gold medal should be returned to Rebagliati even after he tested positive for marijuana. Their ruling reflects the existence of a discrepancy between the International Skiing Federation and the International Olympic Committee’s regulations concerning marijuana.

If the international organizations want to ban marijuana from competition, they should be more specific with the regulations. These issues and discrepancies should have been addressed by the IOC when they agreed to make snowboarding a competitive event at this year’s Olympics.

But on the other hand, Olympic athletes should be held to a higher standard of conduct, as they are competing and representing their country.

Prior to his departure from Canada, Rebagliati’s friends were smoking marijuana at his going-away party. Rebagliati claims he inhaled secondhand smoke, and that he has not used marijuana in 10 months.

Physicians and medical researchers have confirmed that secondhand smoke can accumulate in the human body, as Rebagliati has claimed.

And the use of marijuana has never been proven to be performance enhancing in any athletics, unless you consider rock ‘n’ roll an athletic competition. Obviously, Rebagliati did not take the drug to improve his chances of winning an olympic gold medal.

Although Rebagliati was not using the illegal narcotic, he did make the choice to allow those around him to use the drug. As a former marijuana user and a veteran athlete, he should have known the consequences of even being around an illegal drug.

Being accused of using drugs is not positive for the already questionable image of snowboarding. The Canadian Olympic team is still dealing with Ben Johnson’s fall from grace at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

Rebagliati knew that if he won an Olympic medal, he would be tested for controlled substances. He claims that he would have never put his chances for medal contention or Canada’s reputation at risk, but he should’ve thought that through before attending a marijuana-laced party.

Rebagliati deserves the gold, but he needs to be more conscientious in the future.