Is Marijuana a Performance-Enhancing Drug?

“For something to be added to the WADA Prohibited List, it must meet two of the three inclusion criteria: a) it poses a health risk to athletes b) it has the potential to enhance performance and c) it violates the spirit of sport.

In 2011, WADA published a paper in Sports Medicine discussing the reasons marijuana and cannabinoids meet the criteria. Below are excerpts from this publication that address the three criteria:

1. ‘Athletes who smoke cannabis or Spice in-competition potentially endanger themselves and others because of increased risk taking, slower reaction times and poor executive function or decision making.’
2. ‘Based on current animal and human studies as well as on interviews with athletes and information from the field, cannabis can be performance enhancing for some athletes and sports disciplines.’
3. ‘Use of illicit drugs that are harmful to health and that may have performance-enhancing properties is not consistent with the athlete as a role model for young people around the world’.

In 2019, WADA exempted cannabidiol (CBD) from this category. However, all other cannabinoids, whether natural or synthetic, are prohibited in-competition. Even though CBD is permitted at all times, this article explains the legal and anti-doping issues that continue to make these products risky for athletes.”

“Rugby is a physically demanding sport that requires both mental focus and a high tolerance for pain. It’s a full-contact tackle sport with no pads and no helmets, and the game flows freely with few stoppages – meaning continuous sprinting and collisions throughout the full 80 minutes of the match.

At age 38, I’m in my nineteenth year of playing rugby… Thanks to CBD and full-spectrum cannabis, I’ve been able to continue to perform at a high level in a very tough league…

Cannabis has been a great asset to me in preparing for athletic competition. The goal of pre-competition readiness, aka ‘precovery,’ is to optimize my physical, mental, and emotional condition leading up to game-day so that I can perform at a peak level. Cannabis helps in all of these areas… When I first started consuming the night before competition, the improvement in my game condition and performance was noticeable to me…

Cannabis provides rapid relief for fresh new bruises, strains and abrasions, as well as for deeper injuries like sprains or gouges, which are a regular part of rugby. Applied topically and consumed internally, cannabis remedies can relax stiff and painful muscles and quiet excessive contractions in a way that allows for deeper, restorative stretching.

A notorious appetite-enhancer, cannabis also promotes the food re-fueling process by easing the nausea and angry stomach that I sometimes experience after an intense day of competition…

Sleep may be the most important component of recovery for the brain and body – and not getting enough of it detracts deeply from how we function. THC-rich cannabis decreases the amount of time it takes us to fall asleep (sleep latency), while CBD supports greater sleep quality (deeper REM sleep)…

When I use cannabis, it doesn’t numb my pain, but it buffers the pain and deflects attention from the burden enough to make it much more manageable. It enables more and better functioning, so I can massage the painful areas and walk and move with a greater range of mobility. It helps me heal more quickly.”

“I was known as the guy on tour that loved smoking weed… I found that I was able to use cannabis to get more in tune with my equipment, the snow conditions, how my wax was running. All the little things like the color of the grass, or how sunny it is or how… nice it is outside—those are the things you notice when you’re using cannabis…

People have stigmatized the term ‘performance enhancing,’ like it needs to be injected with a needle to be performance enhancing. A banana is performance-enhancing. Water is performance-enhancing. For me cannabis truly is performance enhancing If it helps you get through your workouts and recover faster, you are going to be stronger and faster and be able to jump higher.”

“Now, the question beckons: How exactly does smoking (or eating) weed make one perform better? Doesn’t it just make you sleepy and paranoid?

Yes and no.

Generally speaking, performance-enhancing drugs fall into two categories: performance aids that increase an athlete’s ability during competition or training, and recovery aids that assist in the healing process after the fact. Marijuana sits squarely between the two ends of the spectrum. The effect largely depends upon the strain, or breed, of the plant.

Sativa strains act as mild stimulants, delivering an uplifting and energizing high that’s well-suited as a preworkout supplement. Indica strains do the opposite – the effect is more relaxing – sedating, even – making it ideal for recovery. Hybrid strains offer the best of both worlds, although one strain is often more dominant than the other.
Devotees… claim that a quick spliff before training increases sensory awareness, allowing them to tap into the mind-muscle connection, making their movements more efficient. Marijuana can have a focusing effect, too, making it easier to get through workouts without distractions. Those are the big benefits in terms of performance.

As a recovery aid, marijuana’s reputation speaks for itself. It can decrease stress, soothe minor aches and pains and, if you’re trying to gain weight, well, few substances stimulate the appetite better (just make sure those stoner snacks are of the healthy variety).”