Should cannabis usage be considered doping in sports? This is a recent debacle in the drug industry as well as many of the sports industries. People all around the world use cannabis in different ways for different outcomes. There are 6.9 million people in the world that use marijuana on a daily basis, as well as 17.4 million people who claim that they use cannabis. In 2004, the World Anti- Doping Agency claimed that cannabis use may improve athletic performance in athletes. The drug also can be beneficial in extreme sports due to its reduction in anxiety, increased muscle relaxation, as well as increases in negative feedback from memories. Smoking cannabis improves body recovery and sleep, which would heavily help the bodies of athletes.
On the other view of cannabis usage, one may think that it would not improve athlete’s performances. This may lead to poor effects on cognition, decision-making, motivation, concentration, performance, and critical skills. For example, a study was performed on cyclists who smoked marijuana. Ten minutes after smoking the substance, they had seen a one-minute decrease in the athletes exercise performance rate. Marijuana use is seen to negatively impact these aspects, making the user to have a slower reaction time. Health risks may also be tied to this drug, although they are rare.
It has been shown that rare and single cannabis use may give off a positive result in sports drugs tests, and therefore cause an athlete to fail the doping test. A way to avoid a violation in an athlete’s contract is to specifically include any illegal drug use, in turn educating the team about the potential outcomes drugs may have on their sports careers.
Bergamaschi, Mateus M., and José Alexandre S. Crippa. "Why Should Cannabis Be Considered Doping in Sports?" Why Should Cannabis Be Considered Doping in Sports? (2013): 1-2. PubMed. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.frontiersin.org/Addictive_Disorders_and_Behavioral_Dyscontrol/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00032/full>.
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