The argument over whether marijuana is a performance enhancing drug or not is likely to be never-ending, but for Dr Andrew Pipe the argument is irrelevant.

On a flying visit to Bermuda to help local officials get up to speed with certain aspects of the World Anti-Doping Agency's code, Dr Pipe believes the issue comes down to a simple matter of choice.

No arguments over culture, over the effects of the drug, nothing but a simple decision. If you want to be an elite athlete you won't take it, and if you don't then you will.

And while Dr Pipe doesn't necessarily believe that the drug itself is performance enhancing, the fact that it is prohibited should be enough to deter athletes from taking it.

"I think by and large it's difficult to see how marijuana is a performance enhancing drug," said Dr Pipe.

"There would be some that would say that marijuana, by virtue of being a relaxant would be disinhibative. So you might be more reckless, you might be willing to take risks you might otherwise not take.

"I've heard it argued, and I wouldn't make this argument myself, that marijuana can enhance the creative process, and therefore in sports where artistic merit is accorded some kind of reward, i.e. figure skating, this might give people some kind of artificial advantage.

"On the other hand there have been cases where Olympic athletes have performed to the highest level, won a gold medal, and then been found to have marijuana in their system."

Given the arguments over the effects of the drug, Dr Pipe also acknowledges that it can be difficult to marry the demands of a global code of conduct with elements of a specific society's culture.

But again, it all comes down to choice.

"There are difficulties in enforcing these rules in cultures where something like marijuana might be seen as being more normal," he said. "But there are choices to be made, and either you are going to be smoking reefers, and understanding that is going to dramatically jeopardise your sporting ability, opportunity, skills and performance.

"Or you're going to decide that you are going to try and be the best athlete that you can be, and recognising that there are rules that govern sport."