Marijuana’s Surprising Effects On Athletic Performance

When Olympic snowboarder Ross Rebagliati tested positive for a small amount of marijuana in his blood at the 1998 Japan games, his first-place finish was temporarily called into question.

But THC, the main mind-altering chemical in marijuana, wasn’t even included in the International Olympic Committee’s banned-substances list at the time (it is now, but at a much higher level than the one he tested at). Rebagliati was allowed to keep his victory and medal. (He is now in the medical-marijuana business.)

Even though it’s on the banned list now, does anyone really think of marijuana as a performance-enhancing drug in the first place?

After all, as Robin Williams later joked, “the only way it’s a performance-enhancing drug is if there’s a big f—ing Hershey bar at the end of the run,” right?

Maybe not.

It turns out marijuana might actually help some people perform better at certain sports.

This may sound crazy. After all, we’re all familiar with the image of the couch-locked, Cheetos-covered stoner.

Yet there are people that say training while high has helped them unlock new performance gains.

In November, Men’s Journal interviewed elite triathlete Clifford Drusinsky, a Colorado gym owner who also leads training sessions fueled by marijuana edibles.

“Marijuana relaxes me and allows me to go into a controlled, meditational place,” Drusinsky told Men’s Journal. “When I get high, I train smarter and focus on form.”

Outside Magazine correspondent Gordy Megroz wrote in the February issue of that magazine that while he has never been much of a pot smoker, he heard enough close friends — especially skiers — say that getting high helped their performance that he decided to give it a shot.

Read full article at Business Insider UK