Cannabis in Sports
By: Quintin Taylor
The support of legalizing recreational marijuana has been on the rise for years now. which has allowed people to have more thought about it's use in sports.
With more states in the United States finally legalizing marijuana for recreational and medical use, sports leagues should do the same.
Many players use marijuana in spite of leagues conducting drug tests. Some leagues only do it once a year while others do drug tests periodically. Current players don't admit to using marijuana, but many former players came out and stated that they have used it during their careers. UFC fighter Nick Diaz received a five year ban after testing positive for marijuana in 2015. He said “If I’m at home and I’m training — doing my same things every day — then I’m definitely going to want to use cannabis. It’s gonna help.” During games, if an athletes chooses to, marijuana can help them concentrate more on the game and causes little to no distractions. Runners for example, consume cannabis before long runs such as marathons to help them focus on just running instead of worrying about how long they have ran for and how many miles do they have until they are finished.
Marijuana isn’t just used for focus, but also used for relaxation after games and practice. Professional athletes spend many months playing games, practicing and training for their respective sport, so their bodies will be worn down, having a higher chance of injury and sore muscles. There’s an active ingredient in cannabis called cannabinoids, which helps with relieving chronic pain. Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon stated “This medical marijuana has been a godsend. It relieves me of the pain — or thinking about it, anyway.”
Cannabis could also help with the player’s mental health. Being a professional athlete means they have to deal with pressure by the fans and the media. The more popular the player is, the more pressure they have to deal with and their spotlight becomes bigger. They endure this pressure because they have to perform at a high level every game and are expected to be perfect. Playing for thousands of fans and knowing millions are watching at home while making one mistake and they’ll be known for that mistake rather than being a good player. Using cannabis could help the player ease their mind off that sport and relieve their anxiety. Former ECW and WWE wrestler Rob Van Dam used cannabis to help him relax after matches and to focus right before matches.
He stated “In front of millions of people that paid to see you at your best, who expect you to be in action-figure shape and condition on that particular night for that moment, you’ve got to deliver.”
RVD is a famous professional wrestler that supports the use of marijuana. He said he used marijuana at least 90 percent of his wrestling career. He uses cannabis to help him perform better during matches and he doesn't have to think about the fans in the stands.
The major sports are realizing the benefits of their players using marijuana. The MLB and the NFL said that the players will not be in trouble if their players test positive for marijuana.
According to Axios, it states "In December, MLB removed marijuana from its list of banned substances and now treats it the same as alcohol. Players do, however, remain subject to discipline for using or possessing the drug, and the league sent a memo to teams last week warning them not to show up to the ballpark high."
The NHL said if their players have a high amount of cannabis in their system, rather than being punished, they’ll go to rehab.
The NBA is the only sport of the four major sports that punishes players for using cannabis. One reason why the NBA hasn't lifted the ban on cannabis is because of the travel rates, teams can't travel to a state where it's legal then to another state where it's illegal. Another reason why it's banned is because of the "War on Drugs" in the 1970's. During this time, the NBA was afraid that players would get addicted to it. The CBA for the NBA will expire after the 2024 season so there's a chance that marijuana will be legal. Many retired basketball players claim they used marijuana during their careers. The most notable players that admitted to using marijuana are Matt Barnes, Al Harrington, and Kenyon Martin. In an interview with Bleacher Report Barnes stated, "All of my best games, I was medicated. "It wasn't every single game but, in 15 years, it was a lot."
Cannabis in sports would be ideal for players to recover naturally and organically rather than being prescribed on pills such as opioids and painkillers. If cannabis were regulated, players could potentially feel more refreshed in between games and would perform better. All sports should legalize cannabis because there's benefits of using this over prescription drugs that players could get addicted to and with more knowledge about cannabis, it's actually used for good rather being seen as a scary drug.