The best detail in Christian Cheung’s new study in the Journal of Applied Physiology is the rigorous, Caddyshack-esque screening the subjects had to undergo: a urine test to prove that they did, in fact, use drugs at least once a week. Such is the world of cannabis research, which still tends to make funding agencies and ethics committees a little uncomfortable. Cheung’s subjects, fortunately, all had plenty of experience and got the green light to head into the lab and test their endurance while high.
As marijuana laws have been loosened in jurisdictions around the world, there’s been lots of discussion and debate about whether it’s a performance-enhancer, particularly after high-profile controversies like sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson’s positive test and suspension at the Olympic Trials in 2021. In endurance sports like ultrarunning, it has a long history: “The person who is going to win an ultra is someone who can manage their pain, not puke, and stay calm,” ultrarunner Jenn Shelton told the Wall Street Journal back in 2015. “Pot does all three of those things.” Based on their prior…
