By Marielle Winuk

In 2024, the National Collegiate Athletic Association removed marijuana from its banned drug list because it was considered a downer that does not improve one’s performance. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) classifies it differently.

The WADA develops policies regarding drug use internationally for athletes. They follow three standards to determine whether a substance is legal or not. For a drug to be legal by their definitions, the drug cannot improve an athlete’s performance, potentially harm the athlete or violate the spirit of sport. Whitney Ogle is the co-director of the Humboldt Institute of Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research and an associate professor at Cal Poly Humboldt. 

“Cannabis, or THC, specifically meets all three criteria, which is interesting, because it’s saying that it can improve performance and also be harmful,” Ogle said.

Cannabis can improve an athlete’s performance by potentially decreasing stress while improving sleep and recovery. Cannabis can also harm the athlete through smoking, which damages the lungs. However, some athletes choose to partake when they exercise to simulate a runner’s high through their endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system helps your body maintain homeostasis by regulating sleep, mood, appetite, memory, reproduction and fertility, immune function and pain control. The system produces molecules called endocannabinoids that bind to receptors in your brain. Specifically, the Cannabinoid Receptor 1 (CB1) which is found in the brain and nervous system, and the Cannabinoid Receptor 2 (CB2)  which is found within the immune system receptors. Once they have performed their function of regulating the body, they are broken down by enzymes. 

“That runner’s high feeling? That’s actually stimulation of your endocannabinoid system,” Ogle said. “We have receptors inside of our body that pick up cannabis molecules or receive cannabis molecules. And then, we also have a system that releases [naturally occurring] cannabinoid molecules with exercise.”

Runner’s high is commonly falsely attributed to dopamine or endorphins being thought of as the cause of the high-like feeling. While dopamine is released as part of the reward system during exercise, it’s actually the naturally occurring endocannabinoids promoting a feeling of euphoria, peace and reduced pain. Exercise increases the levels of endocannabinoids going into the bloodstream and, unlike endorphins, endocannabinoids can move easily through the cellular barrier from the blood to the brain.

If you consume cannabis when you exercise, you get the runner’s high feeling earlier on. However, it actually decreases your natural endocannabinoid response. 

“If you are consuming cannabis, then it makes your own internal system of releasing cannabinoids lower and not as effective,” Ogle said. Through a survey, Ogle found out people are using cannabis before, during and after workouts. 

“Name a type of exercise people are doing, and someone’s getting high and doing it,” Ogle said. 

Even though science shows your natural endocannabinoid release is lowered, people who use cannabis then exercise see benefits ranging from improving recovery and overall enjoyment of the workout. 

“The research typically shows that people enjoy the exercise experience a lot more when they’re under the influence and exercising,” Ogle said.

Many athletes prefer to not be under the influence while they’re training and will use it later on to help with recovery. As stated previously, endocannabinoids — both natural and from cannabis consumption — can help regulate inflammation and pain by bonding to the CB2 receptors. 

Cannabis can be ingested in many forms and can have a variety of different effects on people. In Ogle’s survey, she learned that smoking was the most common way people would consume cannabis when they exercised. 

“One of the benefits of smoking as a method of administration is you can self titrate, which means that you can just take one hit or two, and you can just stop when you feel like a certain level,” Ogle said. “Versus an edible, you take it, and then you kind of have to wait for a little while and see. And so, once you’re [starting to feel] stoned, you have no idea how stoned you’re gonna get.”

Different cannabis products can also make you more associative or dissociative while you’re exercising. 

“There can be some products that make you more aware of your body, and some people see that as a positive thing,” Ogle said. ”If you’ve been on a run and you’re thinking about, like, ‘Oh, do I have even weight in both of my feet? What’s going on with my arms right now?’ You’re kind of in your body, more thinking about your body. But then, some other products can make you dissociate.” Dissociative products make you focus less on what your body feels. 

“You’re just paying attention to the music, and you’re just running and you’re not paying attention to your body at all,” Ogle said. To safely consume cannabis and also have it benefit your workouts, it’s important to track your own data. 

“There’s an app called tetragram, and that’s a place where you can put in all the information about the cannabis product that you’re consuming,” Ogle said. 

The app will check in with you 15 minutes after your consumption, and will collect information like how high you got and how fast your run felt. This data is crucial to studies such as the one Ogle is continuing to research. 

Researchers are continuing to learn more about your endocannabinoid system and how it regulates your body. The natural production of cannabis has shown that it can benefit athlete’s recovery and make their workout more enjoyable. 

Marielle is a junior journalism major with an interest in politics and sports. She can be contacted at mmw146@humboldt.edu