Cannabis and Wide Society
The recent interest of society in cannabis makes it more popular not for use only but also for scientific research and better regulations. Such laws as the Cannabis Act in Canada also make the plant more popular not only within the Canadian society but also far behind the state border.
An interesting point here is that the interest in cannabis is constantly growing among athletes. This category of people is stereotypically considered to conduct a healthy lifestyle and consume no ‘dubious’ substances. However, sportspeople discover the possible benefits of cannabis in their professional activity.
Cannabis and Sport Society
Today, views on cannabis are very volatile. On the one hand, the interest of the public and various spheres of business in the product is growing, and on the other hand, the government and the authorities are trying to strengthen control over the use and distribution of dangerous plants. In fact, we have no complete data about the way cannabis affects sports activities and exercising.
However, research on the plant is very active to provide government and non-governmental organizations with information that will later become the basis for making decisions about the use of marijuana. This is also due to the growing demand for the weed pen. Scientists try to figure out if the drug is safe and which benefits it can give to humanity.
Athletes and Cannabis
Talking about sports, some people support the opinion that because of its relaxing, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant functions of CBD, cannabis can be the first aid for an athlete to perform better. The plant consumption will help to manage pain and focus on the objectives of the sport. The opposite opinion is that the calming properties of the plant will make sportsmen unmotivated and sleepy.
More scientific arguments present the decrease in oxygen intake and decrease reaction times as the basic reason to say no to marijuana use in sports. In addition, marijuana contains THC but CBD which is psychoactive and can become a reason for complications while training, need of analysis, or studying process. However, cannabis is used to be a part of the sports people’s lives.
Far before the best dry herb vape pen was discovered, athletes used marijuana to get focused on the victory, or as an aid against pain after traumas and during recovery programs. At the current moment, the World Anti-Doping Agency has banned marijuana as a drug. Nevertheless, an athlete can get a Therapeutic Use Exemption for medical marijuana if it meets the International Standard criteria.
Scientific View on Cannabis and Sport
Because of the lack of research on the topic, it is difficult to make any firm conclusions. However, the issue needs further discussion on the existing facts. The use of cannabis among sportspeople is not a secret. The ways of such intake vary from so-called “energy balls” to simple dry herb vaporizer pen. Just at the beginning of this century, several research on the topic was conducted in Europe.
French scientists proved that men are more likely to use cannabis for sports performance improvement. They have also discovered that finding out an athlete is smoking, drinking, or taking drugs leads to a great reputation loss. The British Journal of Sports Medicine later proved that it is not the only reputation that suffers from illicit habits. The time of performance also decreases.
Other research showed that marijuana consumption is also bad for activities, which require attention and focus. Driving and piloting suffer from the calming effects of the plant, and the sportsperson can even die because of this extra calmness. This makes us conclude that marijuana is better to be used as one of the instruments of psychological and physical recovery if it should be used at all.
Cannabis under Infirmed View
Cannabis is an extremely complicated plant, which is not a surprise if you look at the other plants. More than four hundreds chemicals constitute the plant. More than one-eighth of them are cannabinoid compounds. These are the elements that interact with the human neurotransmitter endocannabinoid system. They are called CBD and THC. These elements’ objectives include the interaction with the human body and affecting sports performance.
The studies into these elements have shown that THC is the ‘tough guy’. It goes directly to one’s brain and stimulates certain parts, which can cause addiction in a long-term perspective. In addition, being psychoactive, THC is considered as dangerous. Alternatively, CBD is seen in an idealized light. The way it influences the body has not been discovered yet, but the research claims it stimulates human cannabinoids and causes no addiction.
Actually, these claims about CBD paved the way for the vaping industry to develop their weed vape pen. Many people around the world are now interested in trying CBD vaping as a means of relaxation after a difficult working day, or before some important event. Doctors claim that the element is not studied enough and CBD should be taken exclusively in rare cases when it can alleviate severe symptoms.
The only diseases, which CBD is officially recognized as an effective means of treatment, are Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome. The other severe diseases such as cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and more are the diagnosis, which can use CBD only as a helpful means of pain relief, stress decreasing, inflammation abating, or vomiting control. Talking about other proposed clinical use, they include some cases for athletes. They are severe muscle pain and severe pains during traumas.
Today cannabis has become a social drug among young people, which is not a benefit at all. The younger generation, including sportspeople, is eager to try new experiences, and the easy access to illegal ways of marijuana purchase has helped this drug to get fame amongst youth. Recently WADA has been detecting cannabis use (and some other substances) more often within the younger groups and is deeply concerned with the tendency.
Conclusions
The physical and psychological repercussions of even infrequent marijuana intake have not been fully studied yet. The most common outcomes include memory impairment, sedative effect on behavior, the tendency towards somnolence, slower reaction times, and body intoxication. General benefits of medical marijuana are also not applicable to the boost in sports performance. This makes us conclude that cooperation between cannabis and sport is possible only when marijuana in the form of CBD is a part of recovery treatment.