Everybody has an opinion on what should be a banned substance and what shouldn't. Some may argue that THC and cocaine aren’t PEDs, therefore should not be banned. That's all fine, just not relevant.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is both the highest and a 100% independent court. Its rulings should be taken as precedents. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has grown up and is flourishing after its first quarter century of development. It has lived up to its founders' expectations and is recognized as the world's supreme court of sport. The umbilical cord tied to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its formation has been severed. The now independent CAS has established a widely recognized body of arbitral jurisprudence and created a strong reputation that is recognized by athletes, federations, and sporting officials around the globe. The institution has blossomed as one of the world's arbitration adjudication bodies as revealed in its jurisprudence and its history. https://scholarship.law.marquette.e.../&httpsredir=1&article=1482&context=sportslaw
Rulings by the court can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Arbitration_for_Sport
All the excuses put forward to defend JJ have previously been ruled by the CAS. There's nothing remotely unique about JJ's case.
Relevant quotes from the Wikipedia page. In 2001, the court decided the case of Andreea Răducan versus International Olympic Committee. This was a controversial anti-doping case, where it was fairly clear the athlete received cold and flu tablets from her doctor. This resulted in a positive urine test, with the court concluding: "The Panel is aware of the impact its decision will have on a fine, young, elite athlete. It finds, in balancing the interests of Miss Raducan with the commitment of the Olympic Movement to drugfree sport, the Anti-Doping Code must be enforced without compromise.” In 2018, the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to the CAS after FIFA reduced a suspension of Peruvian national team captain Paolo Guerrero. Guerrero had tested positive for cocaine after a World Cup qualifier against Argentina after ingesting a tea containing the substance. Guerrero was initially suspended for a total of 12 months, but this was later halved by FIFA's appeal committee. WADA in turn appealed to the CAS and they imposed the 14 month ban in May 2018 which will cause Guerrero to miss the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The CAS confirmed the existence of an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), but also accepted that Guerrero was not trying to enhance his performance by ingesting the substance. The panel had considered that the player did bear some fault or negligence, even if it was not significant, and that he could have taken some measures to prevent him from committing the ADRV.[35] The thing is, the CAS rulings follow our Western idea of how the law should work. The CAS has ruled by the letter.
Unknowing is not a valid argument in a court of law. You don't believe me? Try run a red light and tell the police officer you weren't aware you passed red. You really think a police officer will accept that excuse and let you off the hook? As if not knowing is a valid legal defense.
Same goes with unintentional. "Your honor, I did not intend for the gun to go off when I pointed it in my friend's face."
It's the same with everything. Tainted supplements are no exception. Well, it depends.
If you do buy over the counter medicine, like Alka-Seltzer, and it turns out the pharmaceutical company made a mixup in production, then you have a valid excuse. This is hypothetical, because this doesn't happen. You will not get Alka-Seltzer with steroids in it.
If you buy herbal or some kind of alternative, non-FDA approved, medicine, then all bets are off. If you don't know what's exactly in it, don't take it. If you want to gamble and take it anyway, then it's on you if you lose.
Based on CAS rulings, the 15 months handed to JJ would have been suitable punishment had this been JJ's first infraction.
JJ has shown no sign of having learned anything from previous infractions, much less a willingness to change.
Justin Gatlin got 4 years for his second offense. As for the CAS, it does not hand out lifetime sentences, for several reasons. One is that because the punishment is so harsh, the burden has to be incredibly high. It's better to err on the safe side, meaning fewer rulings against.
The UFC does not use CAS. When you sign a contract with the UFC, you agree to the arbitrator designed by the UFC. I don't blame the UFC's arbitrator. It is hired by the UFC and can be fired by the discretion of the UFC. It is in the interest of the arbitrator to keep the UFC happy.
The only ones in the wrong here are Dana and the UFC. Even that is sort of a no-issue. What this boils down to is lying. The UFC pretends to have a strict anti-doping policy, when it doesn't. The problem is that they say one thing and do another. As I have said elsewhere, the UFC could mandate steroid use and that would not be an issue of corruption. It would just be suicide, which they are free to commit whenever they want.