Cannabis In Sports
                     HTTPS://CALMCOLLECTIV.C
OM/
CANNABIS IN 
SPORTS
Now that Canada and many US states have legalized 
cannabis, dozens of our professional sports teams now live 
in jurisdictions where recreational cannabis use is legal. 
Some would argue that since cannabis can make it difficult 
to focus and reduce coordination, it would hinder athletes’ 
performance rather than enhance it. However, not every 
cannabis user experiences those effects to the same 
degree, and cannabis can also reduce anxiety, which can 
be useful in high-pressure environments. Rather than 
using cannabis to boost performance during an event, 
though, most 420-friendly athletes use it during recovery.
HOW CANNABIS SPEEDS RECOVERY
To compete in any sport at the highest 
levels, athletes need to push their 
bodies extremely hard. Injuries – minor 
ones, at the very least – are almost 
inevitable. Cannabis is a powerful 
anti-inflammatory, which means it can 
help with common injuries like over-
strained muscles and sprained ankles. 
It also reduces the duration of post-
workout muscle soreness, which could 
help athletes spend more time training 
productively and less time recovering. 
HOW CANNABIS SPEEDS RECOVERY
For athletes who need to maintain a certain calorie intake but struggle to eat enough, 
cannabis can help by stimulating their appetites. Athletes may also use cannabis for 
better sleep. Interestingly, studies have shown that male athletes are more likely to 
use cannabis than female athletes, and there is a strong positive correlation between 
number of training hours and frequency of cannabis use.
It’s also important to note that a majority of cannabis use among athletes may be 
completely unrelated to their performance. One study found that recreational use was 
eight times more prevalent among athletes than use for performance-enhancing 
purposes.
WHICH SPORTS ALLOW CANNABIS USE?
Unfortunately, just because cannabis 
is legal in an athlete’s state or 
province doesn’t mean they can use 
cannabis without repercussions. 
Beyond actual laws, sport bodies 
also have their own rules that govern 
athletes’ behavior. The World Anti-
Doping Agency currently includes 
cannabis on its Prohibited List, as it 
considers cannabis to be a 
performance-enhancing drug. 
Specific sports’ rules are:
WHICH SPORTS ALLOW CANNABIS USE?
• Lacrosse: cannabis use is prohibited.
• Football: the CFL’s drug-testing policy has never included cannabis.
• Hockey: cannabis use is allowed by the NHL, and testing positive for cannabis 
during one of the random drug tests is not grounds for fines or suspensions. 
• NBA: the NBA forbids cannabis use… officially. However, tests are infrequent 
and it is speculated that up to 80% of NBA players use cannabis anyway. 
• NFL: like the NBA, the NFL forbids cannabis use, but doesn’t test frequently.
• MLB: in Major League Baseball, drug tests are only conducted if there is 
probably cause. For this reason, players almost never incur penalties for 
cannabis use, and use is probably much more common than is reported.
Based on the relaxed “anti-weed” policies held by many 
of these sport bodies and the correlation between time 
spent training and frequency of cannabis use by 
athletes, it seems like both athletes and regulators are 
arriving at the same conclusion: that cannabis may be 
a useful recovery supplement, but should not be 
classified as a performance-enhancing drug. Over time, 
cannabis use bans will probably relax or dissolve.
CONTACT 
US
By Phone: +1 647 234 9339
Send us an email on: 
[email protected] 
HTTPS://CALMCOLLECTIV.CO
M/