Changing Landscape: Sports Leagues’ Policies on Cannabis and Psychedelics
Various professional sports leagues have made significant changes to their policies regarding athletes’ use of cannabis and psychedelics.
Recently, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that it reached a deal allowing players to promote companies that make cannabidiol (CBD) products, clarifying that players will still not be able to promote Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) brands or have their own named brand (1). Cannabis testing was dropped in 2020 and this July it will be removed from the list of banned substances (1).
Prior to this, other leagues in recent years have enacted changes around cannabis use. The 2020-2021 National Football League (NFL) collective bargaining agreement resulted in a raised threshold for a positive cannabis test and also changed its policy on cannabis use during the offseason (1).
Similarly, CBD was removed from the banned substances list in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2019, the first US sports league to do so (3). The MLB also signed a contract with CBD company Charlotte’s Web in 2022 (3).
Cannabis is not classified as a banned substance in the National Hockey League (NHL), but if tests reveal high levels of cannabis, a player can be offered discrete admission into the league’s Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program (2).
Last month, ESPN aired “Peace of Mind,” which follows the journey of several professional athletes at a retreat involving psilocybin and includes their commentary on using psychedelics to treat a range of mental health issues (4). “The athletes came hoping to address issues ranging from anxiety to depression to PTSD,” the press release explains (4). “By the end of the therapeutic retreat, each athlete left feeling hopeful, several for the first time in years.”
References
- https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/nba-refutes-reports-cannabis-clause-in-labor-deal-18074672.php
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/04/03/nba-will-no-longer-penalize-marijuana-use-report-says-heres-how-other-leagues-measure-up/?sh=67b0587d56d4
- https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/cannabis-lands-a-homerun-major-league-baseball-signs-deal-with-cbd-company-charlottes-web
- https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2023/04/new-espn-e60-examines-use-of-psychedelics-in-mental-health-treatment-of-athletes/
Ep 26: Innovations in Drying and Curing to Protect Flower Quality
May 27th 2025In this latest installment of Noid Knowledge, we are joined by Dr. Allison Justice, Founder and CEO of the Hemp Mine, and David Sandelman COO, CTO & Co-Founder of Cannatrol. Here, Allison and David discuss innovations in cannabis drying and curing, focusing on the Cannatrol technology which controls vapor pressure, preserving trichome integrity, and flower quality. Additionally, Allison shares how the Cannabis Research Center and Coalition (CRC) is transition to an open-source model to support cultivators, researchers, and home growers.
Ep 25: Cannabis Quality Differentiation Beyond Cannabinoid Content
February 28th 2025In this latest installment of Noid Knowledge we are joined by Julie Kowalski, a leading mind in analytical chemistry and cannabis testing. Julie has arranged a very compelling symposium for Pittcon entitled Cannabis Aroma: Advances and Challenges in Determining and Commercializing Cannabis Product Quality Attributes. It is taking place on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, starting at 9:30 AM in room 209. The session features top notch speakers, including several previous guests of this show, and yours truly, discussing the next generation of quality assessment in cannabis.
