Cannabis and the Health and Performance of the Elite Athlete.

Mark A Ware,Wayne Derman,Dennis Jensen,Alan Vernec,Amy Barrette

doi:10.1097/jsm.0000000000000650

Abstract

Objective:Cannabis (marijuana) is undergoing extensive regulatory review in many global jurisdictions for medical and nonmedical access. Cannabis has potential impact on the health of athletes as well as on performance in both training and in competition. The aim of this general review is to identify and highlight the challenges in interpreting information with respect to elite athletic performance, and to point to important research areas that need to be addressed.Data Sources:A nonsystematic literature review was conducted using Medline and PubMed for articles related to cannabis/marijuana use and sports/athletic performance; abstracts were reviewed by lead author and key themes identified and explored.Main Results:Cannabis may be primarily inhaled or ingested orally for a range of medical and nonmedical reasons; evidence for efficacy is limited but promising for chronic pain management. Although evidence for serious harms from cannabis use on health of athletes is limited, one should be cognizant of the potential for abuse and mental health issues. Although the prevalence of cannabis use among elite athletes is not well-known, use is associated with certain high-risk sports. There is no evidence for cannabis use as a performance-enhancing drug.Conclusions:Medical and nonmedical cannabis use among athletes reflects changing societal and cultural norms and experiences. Although cannabis use is more prevalent in some athletes engaged in high-risk sports, there is no direct evidence of performance-enhancing effects in athletes. The potential beneficial effects of cannabis as part of a pain management protocol, including reducing concussion-related symptoms, deserve further attention.

Highlights

The medical use of cannabis (“marijuana”) has largely been a patient-driven phenomenon because the illegal status of the plant Cannabis sativa and its constituents have hampered any meaningful drug development
Despite some modest efforts to explore the therapeutic effects of the primary psychoactive ingredient delta-9tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for asthma,[5] anxiety,[6] and sleep,[7] the potential therapeutic effects of cannabinoids largely disappeared from scientific view
In the late 1980s, and into the 1990s, the medical use of cannabis became a political issue as patients with HIV/AIDS demanded access to the drug which they claimed helped with nausea, loss of appetite, and pain (Grinspoon, 1995 #5116); synthetic THC was approved for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and anorexia associated with HIV/AIDS by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1992 and another synthetic THC derivative followed in 1995 with approval for CINV

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The medical use of cannabis (“marijuana”) has largely been a patient-driven phenomenon because the illegal status of the plant Cannabis sativa and its constituents have hampered any meaningful drug development. The effects of cannabis on athletic performance have recently been reviewed.[1] This article will review. From the *Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; †Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Faculty of Education, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; ‡McGill Research Centre for Physical Activity and Health, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; §Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Translational Research in Respiratory Diseases Program, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. {Drakkar de BaieComeau, Quebec, Canada; ‖World Anti-Doping Agency, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; **Institute of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Surgical Sciences (Orthopedics), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; and ††IOC Research Centre, South Africa.

BACKGROUND

Result

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