Lance Mackey prepares for the Iditarod

Posted by Karri Gallaugher on March 4, 2010

Mar 042010

Lance Mackey is one of the greatest dog-sled racers that Alaska has ever produced. He is also a medical marijuana patient after battling throat cancer and the lingering medical issues and complications following surgeries and pharmaceuticals. Last year we watched as he made his bid to become a three time consecutive winner of the grueling, 1100 miles plus, Alaskan dog sled race, the Iditarod. He won. Lance became the first person to win both the Yukon Quest (another 1,000 mile-long race) and the Iditarod in the same year, something that was considered impossible before he conquered it.

Mackey was born into the sport of dog sledding, his father was one of the founders of the Iditarod, himself a champion who won by one second in 1978. Lance is making final preparations for the 2010 Iditarod that begins this Saturday in Anchorage. Last year Mackay made news when he admitted to smoking cannabis during the 10-day competition. This year, the organizers of the event have decided to drug test the mushers for the first time in Iditarod history. Although Lance Mackay said the race was so important he would abstain from cannabis until after it was over, it seems that he hasn’t given it up quite yet. Lance was arrested for possessing less than eight grams of marijuana at the Anchorage Airport on January 13, because his medical card had expired. He missed his court date because he was busy racing in the Yukon Quest, a race he has won won four times in the past, and this time came in second.

We will be watching to see if the organizers of the event raise any issues with Mackey’s medical marijuana use. Paying it forward, Lance has taken Newton Marshall, the musher for the Jamaican dog sled team under his wing. They have been training together and Marshall is using some of Mackey’s dogs. It would be wonderful if they finish in the top two spots.

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