663. Is Weed a Performance-Enhancing Drug?

The science says no, at least not in the athletic sense. But the psychic benefits can be large — just ask former N.F.L. star Ricky Williams. He says athletes should consider cannabis a healing drug, not a party drug. Even the N.F.L. is starting to agree. (Part two of a two-part series (freakonomics.com/high-performance).)

• SOURCES:• Angela Bryan (colorado.edu/psych-neuro/angela-bryan), professor, associate chair for faculty development in the department of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
• Ricky Williams (highsman.com/the-brand), former N.F.L. running back, founder of Highsman.

• RESOURCES:• "Using A Lab On Wheels To Study Weed From Dispensaries (sciencefriday.com/segments/cannavan-lab-cannab…)," by Science Friday (2024).
• "Exercise-induced euphoria and anxiolysis do not depend on endogenous opioids in humans (sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030…)," by Michael Siebers, Sarah Biedermann, Laura Bindila, Beat Lutz, and Johannes Fuss (Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2021).
• "Endocannabinoids mediate runner’s high (science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/scisignal.aad7694)," by Sudhakaran Prabakaran (Science Signaling, 2015).
• "Cannabis and Exercise Science: A Commentary on Existing Studies and Suggestions for Future Directions (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26178329)," by Angela Bryan, Arielle Gilman, and Kent Hutchison (Sports Medicine, 2015).
• Run Ricky Run (amzn.to/4621C4g), documentary (2010).

• EXTRAS:• "Is America Switching from Booze to Weed? (freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/is-america-switch…)" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.