Pubdate: Thu, 03 Mar 2016
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2016 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Des Bieler

ATHLETES DEFEND THEIR HIGH

The District recently marked the first anniversary of its 
legalization of recreational marijuana. And as the city is home to so 
many fitness minded people, it's likely that at least a few of them 
are wondering whether it makes sense, or whether it's even safe, to 
incorporate pot into their exercise regimens.

Given the long-standing illegality of marijuana, there is not a large 
body of evidence about its effects on the human body. However, I 
spoke with a professional athlete who offered his own large body as 
testimony to the benefits of engaging in physical activity while stoned.

Activity hardly gets more physical- and grueling-than professional 
wrestling, and at 45, Rob Van Dam not only has been at it for well 
over two decades, he has performed at the highest level it has to 
offer. Van Dam's real name is Robert Szatkowski. He was given his 
ring name by a promoter who thought he resembled the Belgian martial 
arts movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme (not his real name, either, by 
the way). Van Dam once held the Extreme Championship Wrestling and 
World Wrestling Entertainment championships simultaneously, and, as 
one of the most acrobatic performers pro wrestling has ever seen, he 
remains a fan favorite to this day.

Another aspect in which the 6-foot, 235-pound Van Dam has stood out 
is his predilection for marijuana, which not only became a major part 
of his ring persona but also forms a very real part of his daily 
life. When reached by phone at his home in California, he explained 
to me that he doesn't think of it as a performance enhancer so much 
as a "life enhancer."

"I've been known to apply smoking to everything throughout the day," 
he said. In particular, marijuana has helped him in "thinking good 
thoughts, because . . . in front of millions of people that paid to 
see you at your best, who expect you to be in action-figure shape and 
condition on that particular night for that moment, you've got to deliver."

There is widespread agreement that marijuana can put users in a 
relaxed and positive frame of mind (although some can experience 
feelings of anxiety and paranoia), and for that reason, it can be 
considered a performance-enhancing drug, providing an athlete 
serenity and confidence he or she might not otherwise have had.

However, some of the science on marijuana also points to physical 
impairments. Gary Wadler, a noted authority on drugs in sports and an 
official with the World Anti-Doping Agency, has acknowledged 
marijuana's role in "decreasing anxiety" but has also written that 
use adversely affects motor skills, reaction times, eye-hand 
coordination, perceptual accuracy, maximal exercise capacity and concentration.

A 2006 article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine stated that 
THC, the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana, "engenders a 
certain heaviness, marked relaxation, and excessive fatigue of the 
limbs." The article also noted that, because the product is usually 
smoked, that practice can have "detrimental effects on the lungs, 
oral cavity and upper respiratory tract."

On the other hand, a 2012 study published in the Journal of the 
American Medical Association found, for all but the heaviest users, 
"no evidence that increasing exposure to marijuana adversely affects 
pulmonary function." In fact, the study found some evidence of 
increased lung capacity, possibly because of users' penchants for 
taking and sustaining deep inhalations.

Of course, no one needs massive lung capacity more than Olympic 
swimmers, and arguably the greatest of all time, Michael Phelps, was 
infamously photographed taking a bong hit, for which he apologized 
repeatedly. But while Phelps has called his actions "regrettable," 
several other sports stars have, like Van Dam, become cannabis advocates.

Ross Rebagliati of Canada won the first Olympic gold medal ever 
handed out for snowboarding, in 1998, then briefly had it taken away 
when he tested positive for marijuana, before officials realized that 
it wasn't (yet) on their list of banned substances. Rebagliati 
subsequently went into the medical-marijuana business, and when 
reached by phone in British Columbia, he said, "The focus and the 
motivation combined [that cannabis provides] gives you a better 
workout, more often.

"As an athlete, there's a lot of repetitive working out that goes 
on," said Rebagliati, 44, "and going to the gym two, three hours a 
day for five days a week for years on end" gets monotonous. "To be 
able to spice it up in a natural way for an athlete is the best 
possible thing."

He added that, "as far as focus is concerned" while high, he had 
"never seen anything like it."

"All the distractions of your phone, the people next to you working 
out, it just goes away, and you're just going to pound out the 
workout," he said.

Another athlete moving into the world of marijuana entrepreneurship 
is Cliff Robinson, who had an 18-year career in the National 
Basketball Association and was the 1993 Sixth Man of the Year. 
Robinson was suspended twice for marijuana use, causing some wags to 
change his nickname, "Uncle Cliffy," to "Uncle Spliffy," and now he 
is using the latter moniker as the name of his new Oregon-based 
venture, which promises to produce "marijuana designed for athletes, 
also known as Sports Cannabis."

Van Dam, too, was once suspended from his sport, after a 2006 
incident in which police found him to be in possession of a large 
quantity of marijuana. That incident effectively ended his nascent 
reign atop the WWE, but it hardly made him less determined to promote 
cannabis. He points out that marijuana comes in different strains and 
that some, particularly in the sativa species, are better suited for 
high-energy activities, while others, often in the indica species, 
are more associated with classic "stoner" (i.e. couch-potato) behavior.

"If I want to relax and just chill out, consuming cannabis can help 
with that," Van Dam said. "If I want to be active, if I'm going to go 
work out or have a match, then it can help with that, too."

Some warn that marijuana's propensity to elevate users' heart rates 
poses a threat of cardiovascular events that can be increased through 
exercise. Rebagliati speculated that significant heart-rate problems 
might be a result of consuming too much marijuana in given sessions.

"There's a sweet spot for everybody," he said, noting that athletes 
getting into marijuana should start with "one small puff."

Rebagliati also posited that marijuana can increase metabolism and 
referred to a recent study that concluded that, counter to the 
traditional perception of pot, it helps users lower their average 
body mass index. That study suggested those reductions in weight 
were, for younger users, most likely attributed to choosing marijuana 
over high-calorie alcohol.

For older users, the study suggested that they were getting 
pain-relief benefits, contributing to "an increase in physical 
wellness and frequent exercise." And if there is a topic on which Van 
Dam is an expert, it's pain management.

Pro wrestling matches sometimes stretch to exhausting lengths of up 
to half an hour, during which performers subject themselves to "the 
dives, the crashes, the falls to the floor, the slams, the suplexes, 
the power bombs through the tables."

Van Dam estimated that he undergoes the equivalent of "50 car crashes 
in 10 minutes in the ring" and has had "hundreds of concussions."

Of course, folks thinking about getting high for, say, their evening 
runs don't have to worry about that kind of damage. They also might 
not react to marijuana as positively as Van Dam and Rebagliati have- 
everyone has his or her own internal chemistry-but the pair at least 
offer examples of athletes who were able to reach impressive heights 
while getting high.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom