Cannabis for Athletes

In an effort to uncover empirical evidence, the National Football League is funding a trial on the efficacy of cannabis. Many professional athletes claim cannabis lessens pain after a game and accelerates recovery, but does it? Via testing and monitoring, the NFL hopes to determine the value, and any negatives, of THC, CBD, or a combination of both. Pain scores will be reported by athletes, and blood tests will be performed. In addition to the pain/recovery arm of the trial, researchers will determine any impact on sleep, mood, physical function, and cognition.

The study is being conducted by Mark Wallace, MD, and others. Dr. Wallace is a pain management specialist and director of the Center for Pain Medicine at UC San Diego Health Wallace and chief of the Division of Pain Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. He commented, “Much of the knowledge we used for dosing medical cannabis in our pain clinic came from the studies supported by Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, which showed there is a therapeutic window of analgesia with low doses of THC reducing pain and high doses worsening pain. We will build on the CMCR research and our clinical experience to translate efficacy and safety for sports injury recovery.”

 

Read the press release.

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