Sports and athletics have been the focus of anti-cannabis propaganda for decades. Professional athletes are prominent in societies worldwide, so it’s no coincidence that anti-cannabis campaigns have incorporated professional leagues and athletes. Those anti-cannabis campaigns were based on the false premise that cannabis use is always bad, including cannabis use by professional and amateur athletes.
That dynamic is also why professional athletes were targeted so hard when caught using cannabis or possessing cannabis. When a professional athlete failed a drug test due to the presence of THC, they were ruthlessly shamed and made an example of. That public shaming reinforced anti-cannabis propaganda efforts, whether people realized it or not.
Thankfully, many professional sports leagues have now abandoned testing for cannabis. Furthermore, cannabis research is establishing that cannabis can be beneficial for athletes. A recent example is a study led by researchers in Poland who examined the efficacy of cannabidiol (CBD) for post-exercise recovery. The study’s findings were published in the International Medical Journal and initially reported by Marijuana Moment.
CBD “demonstrates efficacy in modulating delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and lowering concentrations of muscle damage markers (creatine kinase and myoglobin), particularly within the 48-72 hour window following intensive exercise,” the researcher wrote.
The researchers also determined something nuanced, but significant. While CBD helped athletes recover post-exercise, according to the study, the cannabinoid “does not directly enhance performance.” That finding is important because, ironically, some cannabis opponents have shifted their propaganda talking points from ‘cannabis is bad for the health of athletes, so it should be banned’ to ‘cannabis is a performance enhancer, so it should be banned.’
Data previously published in the Journal of Cannabis Research demonstrated that people who engage in regular exercise frequently report consuming cannabis products to assist in recovering from physical activity. The results of a separate study determined that the twice-daily use of topical CBD alleviates chronic pain in former elite-level (professional) athletes.
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