CANNABIS AS A PERFORMANCE ENHANCER?
In September 2022, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decided that THC will remain a banned substance and that athletes will be penalized if their urine shows levels indicating frequent use outside of competition.
Around the same time as WADA’s decision, an article appeared in the September issue of the Internal Medicine Journal concluding that THC does not improve aerobic performance or strength. Of course, there is plenty of evidence that THC and other plant cannabinoids relieve pain and inflammation, promote neurogenesis, support sleep, stimulate appetite, and reduce stress—thereby aiding recovery, which is crucial for athletes.
However, using cannabis rich in THC results in a positive test and can lead to at least a one-month suspension—even if the THC use occurred outside of competition.
THE WADA DECISION
Last year, WADA officially launched a review aimed at re-evaluating the status of THC. However, at a meeting held in Sydney, the agency’s 14-member executive committee decided that THC will remain on the prohibited list for now.
For a substance to be placed on the prohibited list, it must meet at least two of the following criteria:
1) It enhances sport performance;
2) It poses a health risk to the athlete; and
3) It violates the spirit of sport.
In the announcement explaining the decision, WADA noted that its ethical advisory group "still considers cannabis use to contradict the spirit of sport in many areas," which is a statement lacking scientific basis. However, a 2011 article in the Sports Medicine journal suggests that the agency views cannabis as potentially risky due to "increased risk-taking, slower reaction times, and impaired executive function or decision-making."
WHERE IT IS ALLOWED
The combined use of THC and CBD for reducing inflammation, managing pain, relieving stress, supporting sleep, stimulating appetite, and even aiding recovery from traumatic brain injury is becoming increasingly recognized. Surprisingly, some sports organizations allow their athletes to use full-spectrum CBD products, meaning those that contain THC. Of course, these organizations are outside WADA’s jurisdiction, but who are they? The big players permitting THC use include the United States National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
THE GREEN PATH FOR CBD
Fortunately, athletes who wish to benefit from the therapeutic properties of cannabis without fear of penalties have other options. This is where CBD comes into play, as in 2019 WADA exempted it from the ban on other cannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids. The use of THC-free CBD Oil is allowed in WADA-monitored sports disciplines, but—as is often the case—the devil is in the details, because broad-spectrum CBD products, while free of THC, do contain several other cannabinoids! It’s important to note that according to WADA’s decision, only CBD is permitted, meaning that isolates and synthetic forms of CBG, CBN, CBC, and other cannabinoids derived from the plant are not allowed.
HOW LONG DOES THC STAY IN THE BODY?
The reporting threshold for THC is 150 ng/ml, which means that if WADA-accredited laboratories detect THC levels below this in urine, it is not considered a positive test. All other cannabinoids are banned at any presence level and have no reporting threshold. Any amount of these substances in the system during competition is prohibited.
If an athlete uses a CBD oil with very low THC and other cannabinoid content, or stops using the product in good time to ensure the complete clearance of THC and other cannabinoids from their system, they can relatively safely use CBD products and avoid doping violations.
So, how long before a competition should an athlete stop taking a medication that is only prohibited in competition? Practically no one can precisely determine how long a substance will be detectable in the body, and there is no official authority providing estimates for athletes.
How long a drug takes to metabolize (break down completely) and get eliminated from the body varies greatly from person to person and depends specifically on the drug as well as the method of administration.
For example, cannabis contains compounds whose elimination times can be very long, ranging from days to weeks, depending on the method of use, the part of the plant used, and the frequency of use. In contrast, pseudoephedrine, a common stimulant found in over-the-counter cold and cough medications, is a fast-eliminating drug that can clear from an athlete’s system within 24 hours or a few days.
Can your doctor or pharmacist tell you the elimination time of a particular drug?
Your treating physician or pharmacist can provide some information about how long a drug’s active ingredient will take to break down based on its half-life (the time it takes for half of the active substance to be metabolized). However, they may not be able to predict how long the drug and its metabolites will be detectable in doping tests.
While the half-life offers an estimate of how long a drug’s therapeutic effects last, doping tests look for both the active ingredient (or parent compound) and its metabolites in blood and urine. Metabolites can remain in the system much longer than the active drug, meaning that calculating elimination time based on half-life often underestimates how long a substance can be detected.
Another reason the half-life is not always a reliable indicator of how long a substance will stay in the body is that it is measured in blood serum or plasma. While some doping tests use blood samples, most rely on urine, and the correlation between concentrations in serum and urine is not always clear.
Unfortunately, there is no perfect way to predict exactly how long a substance will be detectable in an athlete’s sample.
Athletes subject to WADA regulations still risk having their careers derailed by cannabis use, as in the case of sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who was banned from Olympic competition after testing positive for THC.
Despite the recent WADA decision, the agency is not completely closed off to change. This is hinted at by a recent statement from WADA’s Director General, Olivier Niggli, who said, “The agency plans to continue research in this area regarding the potential performance-enhancing effects of THC.”
It’s important to mention that CBD Oil is not a miracle cure! The fundamentals for maintaining good health are regular exercise, a balanced diet, and a stress-free lifestyle. CBD does not replace any of these! CBD is considered a "novel food" in Hungary and most EU countries because its widespread use before 1997 has not been validated. Therefore, no claims about disease prevention or cures can be made regarding products containing CBD.
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