Despite common beliefs that cannabis reduces motivation to exercise and competing claims that athletes use it to enhance performance, almost no scientific research has examined the cannabis-exercise relationship.
Read this if you use cannabis and exercise and wonder about the interaction.
Almost no scientific evidence on cannabis and exercise
What the researchers found
This commentary highlighted a major gap in the scientific literature: the relationship between recreational cannabis use and exercise is essentially unexamined. Two opposing popular narratives exist: one claims cannabis decreases motivation, including motivation to exercise, while the other holds that cannabis enhances athletic activity (cannabis is even banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency).
The authors found limited scientific evidence to support either perspective. Given that cannabis policies are changing rapidly and recreational use is becoming more accepted, they argued that understanding how cannabis affects exercise performance, motivation, and recovery is increasingly important.
The commentary outlined research directions including the effects of cannabis on exercise motivation, acute performance, pain perception during exercise, and recovery processes.
Why it matters
Exercise is one of the most important health behaviors, and cannabis use is increasing. If cannabis significantly affects exercise motivation, performance, or recovery, this has public health implications that current evidence cannot address.
The numbers in context
Cannabis is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Limited scientific evidence found for either motivational impairment or performance enhancement claims.
How the study worked
Commentary reviewing existing literature on cannabis and exercise science, identifying gaps, and proposing future research directions.
What this study cannot tell us
This is a commentary, not a systematic review. The authors identified a gap rather than providing new data. The lack of existing research means even the research directions proposed are speculative.
How to read the evidence
Commentary identifying research gaps rather than presenting new evidence.
When this study was published
Published in 2015. Some cannabis-exercise research has emerged since.
The bigger picture
The cannabis-exercise relationship is one of many areas where public opinion and anecdotal reports have far outpaced scientific evidence. As cannabis becomes legal in more places, basic questions about its effects on physical activity need answers.
Questions still open
- Does cannabis reduce exercise motivation or do some users find it enhances their workouts? Could cannabis aid recovery through anti-inflammatory or pain-modulating effects? Would different cannabinoids (THC vs. CBD) have different effects on exercise?
Common questions
Does cannabis affect exercise performance?
Why is cannabis banned in sports?
Read the original research
Cannabis and Exercise Science: A Commentary on Existing Studies and Suggestions for Future Directions.
Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 45(10), 1357-63
Citation
Gillman, Arielle S; Hutchison, Kent E; Bryan, Angela D. (2015). Cannabis and Exercise Science: A Commentary on Existing Studies and Suggestions for Future Directions.. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 45(10), 1357-63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0362-3
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