Introduction

Unfortunately, in our modern society, there are still many stereotypical beliefs that cannabis consumers are all alike. The image of "The Lazy Stoner" is an all-day-every-day laid-back figure that doesn't do much in life except getting high, eating, and sleeping. Even though there is absolutely nothing wrong with a lifestyle like that, but that stereotypical image could not be more wrong! So many of us are hard-working and committed people with goals in life, and not only that, many of us seem to do a lot of exercise on the side to stay fit and in shape. A growing phenomenon probably pushed to a higher level because of the Covid-epidemic. In this article, we will be going over the subject of combining cannabis with sports! Let's go!

World Anti-Doping Agency

If you have never heard of the name Ross Rebagliati, then the following info will make sure you remember who this is! He is the only Olympic gold-medal winner who had his medal revoked but given back later. Now, what does this have to do with Cannabis you ask me? It went like this in a short story.

Snowboarding was just introduced into the Olympics in hopes of attracting a younger audience to the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, and the first gold medal in this category went to Rebagliati. Tests coming from Rebaglitati found traces of cannabis and for this reason, he got disqualified and stripped of his medal. Later it was reinstated to him because Cannabis was not on the list of banned substances at the time ( surprising, isn't it? ).

However, in 2004, WADA banned cannabis for use in competitions and added it to the list of prohibited substances. A "big" change was done in 2013 when WADA decided to actually raise the allowed threshold to 150 nanograms per milliliter of urine ( before this was 15 ) in competition. And above this decision, they took CBD ( cannabidiol ) off the banned substances list!

This was a big step forward and just another good point that cannabis is not only meant to "just get high".

Possible Benefits

Cannabinoids are a group of compounds that mediate their effects through cannabinoid receptors in your brain. The two main compounds in cannabis are THC and CBD. THC is the psychoactive compound that makes you high when decarboxylated and consumed, for example by burning and inhaling the smoke.

Now, by getting high, you probably won't get faster or stronger, but, there are benefits to using cannabis in a medical way or as a support for your exercise!

Here are only a few of the possible benefits :

• Mental Health And Focus : A study has shown that a chronic low dose of THC restores cognitive function in old mice and now, of course since we are not mice, we cannot conclude the same for humans but cannabis is known to get people "in the zone".
• Works against Soreness and Chronic Pain : Several studies further support that currently available cannabinoids are safe, and provide a reasonable therapeutic option in the management of chronic pains.
• Reducing Inflammation : Researchers conducting several studies have found that CBD, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid in Cannabis, can help to ease inflammation.
• Muscle Spasm Treatment : Another area of medical application for cannabis is the treatment of muscle spasms and also associated with diseases like multiple sclerosis and even Parkinson's
• Sleep improvement : We all know that THC helps you fall asleep but there are studies that have concluded it can help people with sleep problems such as sleep apnea or people suffering from PTSD.

Possible Risks : 

The cannabis plant contains more than 100 unique chemical components classified as cannabinoids. These are the active ingredients that bind to specific receptors in the brain and other parts of the body. When it comes to substances such as cannabis and combining this with activities such as sports, there comes risk. Even though this is just a piece of informational writing, for all of you we must give you the following advice :

1. Depression and mental health problems : Once the word abuse comes to daylight, this means it has significant implications for both the individual and its environment. Chronic and acute use of cannabis is strongly associated with mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and psychosis.
2. Poor Decision Making : Cannabis is one of those substances, when you are under the influence, or in other words, stoned or high, this will have an effect on the decision you make and also your motoring skills. So keep in mind that it might not be the right time to start lifting heavy objects, even though you have good intentions of working on your health, that is not the time to do it.
3. Heart-Related Problems : Any person that has a history of heart problems or if you are in a family where many close relatives have heart problems, better consult a doctor before starting a fitness schedule, and most likely they will tell you to avoid cannabis
4. Lung Damage : Of course, not all marijuana products are consumed via smoking, but since it is one of the most used ways of cannabis consumption, we had to mention this. Just like tobacco, it contains toxins, irritants, and carcinogens as tobaccos.

Different ways of consuming

Depending on where you live, you will have different access to cannabis in general and types of products, and the following are only a handful of ways that cannabis can be consumed :

1. Pills or capsules : Also known as "cannacaps" , these have become a popular way of consuming cannabis. These capsules are normally filled with cannabis, already decarboxylated suspended in an oil. This makes it very useful for people with respiratory problems and best of all it makes it possible to give an accurate dosage with a long effect.
2. Tinctures : These are either alcohol or oil-based extracts that are usually incorporated into a variety of recipes. Medical users consume tinctures sublingual, in other words, under the tongue. They have a slower uptake than smoking but significantly quicker than edibles, and a longer duration of effect than smoking, but shorter than edibles, so it is a bit of both worlds combined in a small bottle!
3. Edibles : The easiest way of making "an edible" is by adding a tiny bit of activated marijuana directly mixed into food and nowadays there are countless of edible recipes to be found out there from the old school weed cookies to cannabis ice cream
4. Smoking : There are different ways cannabis can be smoked and consumed but the most common way is of course the joint. After that is probably the bong and dab-rig most used.

Here is an example of one of our platforms growers,Bud_Spencer,  for making CBD oil :

Purplematic CBD by RQS

Conclusion

With all of this said, health application and the benefits of using cannabis in all its forms possible is a new area of study. And even though you can still find a lot of more information in our related articles or the references below, this is a topic from which I hope in the following decades to come, with the growing cannabis legalization that is going on worldwide, this is a great subject to follow what is more to come in the future!

Feel free to drop a line below in the comment section!

References

Working out with weed - Tien Nguyn ( 2019)

Cannabis infused workouts are a thing now - but are they safe? - Gigen Mammoser ( 2019 )

What happens to your body when you smoke weed and work out? - Jay Polish ( 2020 )

9 ways marijuana effects your athletic performance - Elizabeth Yun 

The best ways to work weed into your workout - Rachael Schultz

Obesity and cannabis : results from 2 representative national surveys - Yann Le Strat, Bernard Le Foll ( 2011 )

Cannabinoids as novel anti-inflammatory drugs - Prakash Nagarkatti, Rupal Pandey, Sadiye Amcaoglu Rieder, Venkatesh L Hegde, and Mitzi Nagarkatti ( 2010 )

Cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic non cancer-pain - M.E. Lynch, Mark A. Ware ( 2015 )

Effect of medical cannabis on thermal quantitative measurements of pain in patients with Parkinson's disease - A. Shohet,  A. Khlebtovsky,  N. Roizen,  Y. Roditi,  R. Djaldetti ( 2016 )

Effect of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol on nocturnal sleep and early-morning behavior in young adults - Anthony N Nicholson, Claire Turner, Barbara M Stone, Philip J Robson ( 2004 )

A chronic low dose of 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) restores cognitive function in old mice - Andras Bilkei-Gorzo, Onder Albayram, Astrid Draffehn, Kerstin Michel, Anastasia Piyanova, Hannah Oppenheimer, Mona Dvir-Ginzberg, Ildiko Rácz, Thomas Ulas, Sophie Imbeault, Itai B, Joachim L Schultze & Andreas Zimmer ( 2017 )

Cognitive motor deficits in cannabis users - Shikha Prashad, Francesca M Filbey ( 2017 )

This article was updated May 2021