Saskatoon, Canada: Elite athletes and their medical staff hold positive views regarding the use of cannabis and would like to see pro sport regulations amended to t recognize and allow for its therapeutic use, according to survey data published in the journal Sports Health.
Canadian investigators surveyed the attitudes of 166 pro athletes from Australia, Canada, and the United States, as well as 64 members of their training staff (e.g., physicians, conditioning coaches, etc.).
Most (56 percent) athletes acknowledge currently using cannabis products and 87 percent of them said that they possesses therapeutic utility. More than two-thirds of athletes (67 percent) said that they would consider cannabis “as a substitute for other prescription or over-the-counter drugs if effective and permitted.”
Both athletes and medical staff categorized cannabinoids as either “supplements or medications.” Most respondents support legalization and called for revisions to pro sports leagues’ cannabis policies. Consistent with numerous other surveys of health professionals, sports physicians and trainers reported receiving “very limited formal education on cannabis during their professional training.”
The study’s authors determined: “Elite contact sport athletes and their medical and training staff are navigating a rapidly changing landscape of cannabis legality, commercialization, and evolving scientific evidence with limited formal education and significant uncertainty. Athletes report relatively high levels of use and strong belief in therapeutic benefits but lack detailed knowledge and experience substantial stigma and communication barriers with team medical staff. Medical staff, while largely supportive of legalization and open to therapeutic possibilities, frequently feel undereducated and lack confidence in providing cannabinoid guidance.
They concluded, “Addressing these issues requires coordinated educational, clinical, and policy responses that involve both athletes and medical staff, reframing cannabinoids from taboo substances to complex therapeutic tools that demand rigorous, evidence-based management in the high-stakes context of elite contact sport.”
Full text of the study, “Athletes and medical staff in elite contact sports: A quantitative analysis of us, knowledge, and attitude regarding cannabinoids,” appears in Sports Health.