Colorado Study Explores the Connection between Cannabis and Physical Exercise

While the normalization of cannabis continues apace with shifts in treatment of the plant happening in professional golf, the NFL and even the Olympics, its use among the common masses looking to stay fit gets far less attention. But under the radar, use is apparently pretty common in legal states. A 2019 poll conducted by the University of Colorado at Boulder found that 82% of cannabis users in these states consumed either before or after working out. Of those “co-users,” large majorities said it helped them enjoy their exercise more (70%), attested that it boosted recovery (78%) and that it spurred them on to continue with their exercise (52%).

However, according to UC-Boulder PhD student Laurel Gibson, “To date, there are no human studies on the effects of legal market cannabis on the experience of exercise.” She and her research team at the University’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience plan to rectify that with their ongoing study on just that. Once they are done, they hope to determine whether or not the effects reported by the subjects recently polled have any supporting evidence attached to them. For cannabis-loving gymrats and ultramarathonners, it’s a fun opportunity.

HOW THE STUDY WORKS

For this study, which bears the acronym SPACE (Study on Physical Activity and Cannabis Effects), 50 subjects from the Boulder, CO area will participate in three separate workouts. The first one will measure the subject’s vitals at baseline and ask foundational questions about his/her overall fitness. On the second visit, subjects run on a treadmill for 30 minutes, answering questions every 10 minutes about their pain, how they experience time, and the level of difficulty they feel with the workout. On the third, they repeat this procedure, except this time, they’re under the influence.

Since UC-Boulder’s researchers can’t distribute the sort of dispensary-grade cannabis legally under federal law, subjects have to purchase a THC- or CBD-dominant product after the first visit. On the day of the third visit, subjects are picked up in a mobile lab, dubbed the “cannavan” by university, at their homes, where they initially consume the product. The cannavan brings them to the testing facility. Males between the ages of 21-40 and females between the ages of 21-50 can apply, and SPACE is still recruiting for subjects in the area.

Researchers hope to illuminate some of the reasons why cannabis consumers may choose to use cannabis before or after exercise, especially since cannabis is stereotypically seen as an impediment to physical activity. (This may hold true for cannabis use initiated as a teen — one study that contrasted cannabis use amongst 677 individual twins found an association between adolescent cannabis use and adult exercise engagement.) Some also point to the probability that the fabled “runner’s high” may not derive from the body’s endorphins, but its endocannabinoid system instead. One of SPACE’s participants says that with cannabis, her routine experience of the runner’s high occurs “at a little intense mileage.”

THE USES OF CANNABIS IN EXERCISE

For a significant subset of people, exercise isn’t an enjoyable activity, and it actually becomes more painful as people age. Even devoted fitness fans face inflammation after particularly intense workouts, which has led many to seek out CBD products. “It basically manages and prevents my joint inflammation, that aching kind of feeling, that I'd get after a heavy lift day,” personal trainer and former sprinter Tara Laferrara told Men’s Health. Since CBD was removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited products list in 2018, the stigma has lifted even further.

Until more studies like SPACE are completed, science, as always, will continue to play catch-up to where the rest of the country already is. So, if you’re heading into THC territory with your exercise routine, keep in mind a few things:

• Because cannabis can affect motor control and judgment, some cannabis experts, such as integrative cannabis physician Dr. June Chin, recommend steering away from physical activities such as street running or bungee-jumping, where the margins for error are particularly slim.
• Edibles, if they’re not fast-acting, are also difficult to work into one’s activity unless you’re uniquely tuned in to your metabolism.
• The safety of CBD has been debated and, additionally, the jury’s still out on how it may interact with other medications you may take. One study showed that 200 mg/kg caused liver toxicity in mice. So consult with your doctor if you’re serious about finding your outer limits.