New Study Finds Diverse Views Among Sports Medicine Doctors On Marijuana Use, Highlights CBD

Conducted by members of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), the study shed light on the perspectives of sports medicine doctors regarding cannabinoid use with a primary focus on cannabidiol (CBD).

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About The Study

• Responses from 333 physicians helped determine if they are recommending cannabinoids for therapeutic purposes and analyze perceptions of these substances within the realm of sports medicine and performance.
• “Only 9.9% of our respondents believe CBD is detrimental to performance and the integrity of sport, compared to 39% with cannabis,” according to the research, first reported by Marijuana Moment. “The reasons for this discrepancy are unclear from this study, but these perceptions may influence how sports medicine providers counsel their athletes using CBD products.”
• Key findings also indicated that female gender, increasing age and rural practice are associated with a lower likelihood of supporting cannabis for recreational use.

These factors also correlate with a higher likelihood of disagreeing with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) removal of cannabis from the prohibited substance list and with the NCAA allowing CBD use by collegiate athletes. This insight gains relevance amid ongoing controversies involving WADA, notably the exclusion of track star Sha’Carri Richardson from the Tokyo Olympics due to a positive cannabis test in Oregon, where marijuana is legal.

The study, published in the journal Translational Sports Medicine, also revealed that CBD is less likely to be recommended by pediatricians, rural doctors and academic physicians. Furthermore, "male physicians and younger physicians were less likely to identify cannabis as performance-enhancing."

“Sports medicine physicians have varying views on cannabinoids. While they "generally have favorable attitudes toward CBD and cannabis, these perceptions appear to be significantly affected by age, practice type, and gender,” researchers concluded.

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Image by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash