A decade ago, if a professional rugby player, footballer or golfer had been caught self-medicating with a cannabis product, it would have been what is termed a “career limiting move.” At the very least, it would have resulted in screaming tabloid headlines, fines and a reduced likelihood of being selected for international honours.
These days, athletes are not just using CBD to aid recovery and improve focus. One pair of enterprising rugby pros has even set up in business selling it to other players! The popularity of CBD in combination with the legalization of more exotic cannabinoids over in the USA have combined to mean that the sporting world is just not shocked by cannabis anymore. In fact, you could even say it is hitting the mainstream.
Kruis and Day's burgeoning CBD empire
Last year, locks George Kruis and Dominic Day parted company with Saracens to continue their playing careers overseas. But their legacy lives on, and not just in the match reports from seasons gone by. The pair were among the first rugby players to try CBD after it was removed from the World Anti Doping Association's banned list. They were so impressed with it that they set up their own ecommerce business, fourfivecbd, providing CBD oil, capsules, drinks and topicals.
Day explains that he discovered CBD as a last resort when struggling to recover from knee surgery. For him, the results were instant, and he has sworn by the product ever since. The cannabinoid has both anti-inflammatory and analgesic qualities, but is completely natural. It means that Day is now able to take a specific dose in capsule form at the start of each day, in much the same way as you might take a vitamin tablet. It has allowed him to practically eliminate prescription medication. Kruis had an almost identical experience with chronic ankle pain. Like Day, he was at his wits end having tried all manner of over the counter solutions.
CBD in the broader sporting environment
The real-world experiences of the former Saracens pair make for a compelling sales pitch, and it is no surprise that athletes in a diverse range of sports are picking up their story with interest. But they are far from being the only standard bearers that are taking cannabis products into the sporting mainstream.
The staid and traditional gentleman's sport of golf seems an unlikely breeding ground for sports innovation, and your average golf club is unlikely to be familiar with cannabis products. But the world is moving on apace, and if ever there was evidence that cannabis is hitting the mainstream, it is the appointment of journeyman pro Charley Hoffman as a brand ambassador for a new line of CBD products.
The 43 year old has been on the circuit since the dinosaurs roamed free, and with every respect to both him and those who work in finance, he looks more like an accountant than a sports pro. Yet he is one of a dozen or more golfers who have embraced CBD – and he is willing to shout it from the rooftops.
