Smoking weed and playing sports have long been two activities that were prohibited to become mixed together. In almost every case an athlete who is caught smoking marijuana is either put on probation or may be kicked out of their sports team entirely since it violates the code of conduct. However, whether or not it’s done behind closed doors, more athletes than ever are turning to marijuana to benefit their sports performance or recovery. Times are changing and weed is becoming more common and legal in many states throughout the country. Even though you might be against to marijuana in sports, it’s worth being ware of the reasons why athletes are more prone these days to using it. Let’s walk through some ways smoking weed and playing sports may actually work for some athletes.

Benefits Of Smoking Weed For Athletes

Now that cannabis is legal in many parts of the U.S., researchers are starting to debunk several myths about marijuana about the drug.  At the same time, the social stigma is beginning to loosen to point that many athletes are challenging the stereotype of the “stoner look”. But is marijuana truly a miracle drug? Some signs of benefits of marijuana in sports include:

• It helps athletes with their recovery. Reducing muscle and joint inflammation is one of the most promising areas of cannabis research at this point in time. Several studies have found that CBD, the non-THC containing property of marijuana helps ease levels of anxiety and inflammation form intense training. CBD is completely legal and is in fact manufactured by “gummy” form, by vape pen form, and by oil form by several health companies now. Now, researchers believe that it can even become a natural way to treat autoimmune conditions like Crohn’s disease, lupus, and depression. The possibilities seem to be endless with the property. One cannabis start up founder even stated that using cannabis believes it helped in many ways by stating that “since treating with cannabis I’ve learned that not only does it help with the physical pain, it helps me mentally—it has greatly increased my quality of life.” It’s only a matter of time until more states pick up on the benefits that marijuana provides.
• Marijuana in sports may provide the benefit of treating painful muscle spasms as well. Spasms are very common in athletes who train for several hours every day and regularly break down their muscle tissue. One M.D. stated recently that studies in rodents showed some beneficial effects in muscle recoveryand reduction of muscle spasm after consuming small amounts of cannabis. Lots of research still needs to be done but the potential to treat patients who also suffer from Parkinson’s disease and anxiety attacks can make a huge difference.
• Marijuana can help athletes deal with their insomnia and daily stress levels. It’s no secret that THC induces sleep in most people, but studies have also found that it can does people with sleep apnea and even suppress dreams which are caused from long term symptoms of PTSD. Most experts recommend that athletes can use CBD to ease REM sleep disorder and reduce daytime fatigue. Everyone knows how important sleep is to overall performance and how legally dangerous smoking weed and sports is, so trying different forms of CBD can be extremely beneficial. Additionally, taking CBD comes with less side effects that traditional sleep medications cause like long term fatigue, mood swings, and even headaches in some people.
• Taking low levels of THC or taking CBD is shown to improve the mental clarity of thousands of people. For athletes, this can benefit their focus during important workouts and other tasks throughout the day. In some athletes, they have been open about cannabis providing a type of “meditative flow” that they rarely experience during their stressful schedules. Marijuana in sports still has a long way to go, but experimenting with low doses of 5mg to 10mg at a time can provide great benefits for top performers. However, it’s highly important to abide by the rules of the team and especially of the state if THC is strictly prohibited.
• It helps athletes who have a long term struggle with ADHD. It turns out that the amount of professional athletes who have ADHD is double that of the general population. In fact, at least ten 10 percent of these athletes who are reported to have ADHD says cannabis has helped a major amount. People with ADHD can easily focus on what topics capture their interested, so the challenge lies in maintaining that focus when distractions come in their way. Using all natural and organically strained cannabis can help enhance their focus in these situations. However, different strains are used to help people with general focus issues and for treating sore muscles so asking the right questions is crucial here. You don’t want to take too much of a strain or take the wrong type of a strain for your personal problem.

Marijuana And Sports Of The Future

It’s hard to tell how many athletes will be able to start smoking weed to help with their issues of focus, muscle strain, insomnia, or anxiety, but the research that points to the benefits it provides is highly thorough. It’s much better to deal with an issue in the natural way than take a medication that doesn’t work to fix the root of the problem. At the same time, if you are an athlete who wants to start using cannabis or CBD to improve your health or boost your performance, make sure you’re aware of the risks that come with the substance and the legality of it in your state. Every state has its own set of rules, so just because the weed is sourced from California doesn’t make it legal to take when you live in Illinois. Watch out and use your best judgement so you don’t sacrifice your future!