Speaking his mind: Extreme Q&A with EliteXC's Nick Diaz

Q: I believe the assertion was that you were numb to the pain and that you had an advantage. How do you feel about that?

ND: That's what I mean! How am I going to be numb to pain off some weed!? It's common sense that weed doesn't numb you from pain. I figure that the reason why they give it to cancer patients is because I'm sure it helps pass their time. It helps you get through your day a lot quicker. And they eat like they're supposed to. Everybody who is fighting usually has a problem with eating or not eating and I think it (marijuana) helps out a lot with that. I actually think it could be really good for fighters, or athletes, or anyone in general who needs it. It's just like how one would use green tea for natural caffeine or for digestive help. I think the idea of making marijuana illegal like it is right now is a case of paranoia.

Q: It was reported that your THC level following the fight was 175. According to some medical publications, anything above 12 is considered a positive test and NSAC has an allowance of 50 for athletes. Can you offer an explanation for your high level?

ND: As far as I know that should be a normal level (175) for anyone who has tested positive. I know plenty of people that would have tested higher than that. I don't see what the difference is about that being abnormally high for someone who tests positive for it. My point is I wasn't high the same day of the fight or the week of the fight. And how would I be? I go to Vegas and I don't know anybody in Vegas; they have s---- weed in Vegas. They don't even have any out there, it's a f------ desert out there.

Q: So to clarify, you contend that anyone who would have marijuana in their system would have tested around your level and there was nothing off the chart in regard to your positive result?

ND: Yeah, I think what you need is about two weeks of not smoking marijuana. No smoking it, no eating it, no doing anything like that. You need to do a little bit of a detox. You can go to your local health food store and they've got all kinds of different types of detox stuff that you can cleanse your system with. And then you can go in there and give them a test that passes under 50 probably within 2 to 2½ weeks.

But I wasn't really worried about it, because I give them dirty piss tests all the time in the UFC and every show I've ever fought in. So I don't see what the problem is. They weren't testing for it before. All of a sudden when they wanted to suspend me, they suspended me.

Q: So you're saying you've tested positive for marijuana before?

ND: That's the thing, nobody tested for it. There was no testing for it (marijuana). Nobody gave a s--- if there was. So I've given about nine tests in my life and only one of them came up positive but for every one (of the tests) I had been smoking weed. And at least in the same month, so they had to have come up (positive).

Don't get me wrong. It's not like I sit around and smoke pot all day. I train harder than anybody you know, I guarantee it. You've got fighters out there that are like "Yeah, right." Yeah, I do, buddy. If you don't think so come to my gym here and you can see that we train harder than all of you. We're professional athletes over here (Cesar Gracie's Jiu-Jitsu Academy), and I don't consider myself unhealthy because I smoke some weed.

The only kind of pain it might numb me from is the fear of losing in competition and the anxiety that everybody has to go through as fighters. It's not like we can just all of a sudden cop out and go get drunk. You know what I mean? Like go out and get hammered and go "Aw f--- man, this is too hard. I can't take it anymore. I'm just going to get drunk." You can't do that because you won't make it back to the gym the next day. But you get loaded and run five miles like it's no thing and set all your worries aside and f------ drop your weight and do your thing and let whatever's going to happen, happen. It might make things a little bit easier so yeah, if you want to call it a performance enhancing drug in that sense, by all means do it then. Good, maybe it should be OK then. Wouldn't you say?

All we're doing is relieving a little anxiety and I'm sure I could go out and get some prescriptions that they would allow me to use in a fight. The only thing is that those (prescriptions) would be counter-productive to my well-being because now we're putting chemicals in there.

Q: So are you saying that you could go to a psychiatrist and get prescribed valium, klonopin, xanax and all that stuff that could possibly be more harmful and more addictive?

ND: What about f------ putting chemicals and using prescription drugs that actually kill people (when they overdose)? F--- that. It's obvious they kill people. Homegrown herbs don't kill people. They don't. They never have. I'd be more worried about vicodins and stuff they're not even testing for because that numbs the pain. If I really wanted to be numb I'd go out there drunk.

I do triathlons. I've done f------ 112-mile bike rides and 26-mile runs all in the same event. You can do it high, it feels great loaded.

Q: Wait, you compete in triathlons when you're high?

ND: Hey, you know, it's not going to be a problem. If I was going to go and try to win first place and become the most competitive triathlete in the world then, maybe I wouldn't go out and try to compete high. But if you're just going on a big, long relaxing workout event day then yeah, do a triathlon as completely loaded as you can get because you're only going to be able to get high probably -- you get out of the car and next thing you know go up and transition. Everything is going to take an hour to set up your transition and you can get high during that time. So you can get high and then for about an hour set up your transition and then go do a triathlon and you're still going to be loaded. It's going to go about a couple hours into the event, I guess. But why not do a triathlon high?

Q: After the suspension, are you still a regular marijuana user?

ND: Well, I don't plan on ever testing positive for a drug test again. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.

Q: Some conspiracy theories have been floated out there that the UFC allegedly influenced the Nevada State Athletic Commission to have your win overturned. Do you feel there was in fact a conspiracy?

ND: I don't know, really. Just like any big organization I feel like there's always some sort of elite group of minds working together controlling things. I don't know who it is and I don't know what I did to them but whatever I did, I'm sorry. I hope we can work things out in the future because I'd like to get rolling here. I'm a hard worker. I'm ready to fight. I'll fight anybody. That's what's important is that I'm here.