1. The Effects of Cannabidiol on Athletic Performance

CBD isn’t a performance enhancing drug. Despite the fact that CBD isn’t a drug that improves sports performance, cannabinoids have been banned in sports, mainly due to cultural aspects and lack of information.

Cannabis cannot be considered a performance enhancing substance. However, it could be an interesting supplement for athletes. There are three ways CBD can help you improve your athletic performance:

CBD has anti-inflammatory properties

CBD has been used for many athletes to treat pain and inflammation. For example, we have already mentioned the UFC fighter Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz and his brother Nick have created a company that produces CBD products.

Nate Diaz and other athletes have been using CBD products to treat and reduce inflammation after a fight or a strenuous sports activity.

CBD reduces anxiety

CBD has been mainly used to treat anxiety and for anger management. Anxiety isn’t our best ally for performing a task. For instance, anxiety affects our concentration and self-confidence.

Reducing our anxiety levels is the best way to improve athletic performance and other activities that require high concentration. CBD can help us reach our true potential.

CBD has neuroprotective properties

Administration of CBD may reduce short-term brain damage. This is especially interesting for contact sports athletes. Moreover, CBD administration was associated with cardiac, hemodynamic, and ventilatory beneficial effects. Furthermore, there are ongoing studies about CBD treatment for concussions.

2. CBD doesn’t Make You High

Perhaps you already know that CBD isn’t psychoactive. However, many people still associate cannabinoids with getting “high”. This is not the case of CBD, as it isn’t a cannabinoid with psychoactive properties like THC.

Nonetheless, we can say that CBD is a mood-altering substance. It has effects by moderating anxiety, stress, and depression, and even psychosis. That said, it cannot be considered a psychoactive substance since it does not alter perception, nor does it cause optical effects or variations in time perception. However, saying that CBD isn’t “psychoactive” is technically wrong. CBD has mood-altering effects, but it doesn’t cause intoxication, nor does it cause euphoria.

3. CBD isn’t Addictive

Cannabinoids can’t be considered addictive. There are two types of addiction: physical and psychological addictions. A physical addiction occurs when our body adapts to an external substance. When this substance or drug is taken away, then the user suffers from withdrawal symptoms.

CBD does not cause a physical or psychological addiction. You can stop using CBD at any moment and you won’t suffer from any withdrawal symptoms. However, you might experience increased anxiety or anger if you were using CBD for anxiety or anger management.

In conclusion, you don’t need to worry about CBD and addiction or withdrawal symptoms. Just vape it and enjoy it!

4. Many Extraction Methods

There are so many extraction methods. There are classic methods such as filtering. Filtering is still one of the most efficient methods to obtain high concentrations of kief (trichomes). This method is probably the most popular one, but dry ice is also a popular extraction method. Moreover, there is another “traditional” method called “bubble hash”. This process is simple, and it needs just ice, water and filters.

For CBD oil, we can classify the extraction methods as solvent and solvent-free ones.

Solvent based methods:

To obtain cannabis oil we need a solvent (could be ethanol, butane…) to separate the trichomes from the plant material. After that, we need to get rid of the ethanol or any other solvent and then start the decarboxylation process of the remnant cannabis solution.

Solvent-free methods:

The aforementioned filtering and bubble hash methods are both solvent-free methods. In addition, there are other extraction methods such as using CO2. Carbon dioxide acts as a solvent by extracting cannabinoids and essential oils from the plant material. Moreover, it acts as a versatile solvent that is much safer than butane extraction methods. Furthermore, CO2 extraction of CBD is the perfect method for users looking for clean, toxic-free cannabis byproducts.

5. You can consume it in Many Forms

Edibles, tinctures, oils, creams, shampoos, body gels, vaping…There are many ways to consume CBD. Some methods are more effective than others. For instance, if you are looking for a fast effect and efficient intake method, then you should consider vaping. Vaping is easy, fast and very efficient. For example, you won’t need to wait for hours to feel its effects. Other methods, such as CBD edibles, last a longer time, but it also takes hours to feel their effects.

In addition, vaping is a safer alternative than smoking cannabis. Although smoking is a fast intake method, it can damage your lungs and health. Vaping CBD doesn’t affect your lungs like smoking. Therefore, vaping is considered a safer alternative.

6. CBD and Many Positive Health Effects

It has been used mainly for the treatment of anxiety, stress and as a treatment for certain types of epilepsy. Moreover, CBD is being researched as a treatment for many other diseases, such as fibromyalgia, as a potential treatment for cancer, or even as a substitute for opioids. However, we can only say that CBD is FDA-approved (trade name Epidiolex) for the treatment of two forms of treatment-resistant epilepsy. In other words, CBD has only been proven effective as a treatment for certain forms of epilepsy.

Other claimed CBD properties are just speculations or potential properties. In conclusion, we still need more research to understand how CBD works and for what it is useful.

7. CBD Isolates vs. Full Spectrum

Cannabis isolates are crystalline powders that contain only one cannabinoid. For example, a CBD isolate only contains CBD. Apparently, full spectrum is more efficient than cannabis isolates. According to a study from the University of Jerusalem, “CBD in the presence of other plant constituents improves the dose-response, showing that CBD in a standardized Cannabis sativa extract is more potent or efficacious than pure CBD”.

In the cannabis community, this is called the “entourage effect“. In other words, the plant as a whole has more positive effects than each isolated cannabinoid. The entourage effect isn’t entirely understood, and we still don’t know why it is more efficient than using cannabis isolates.

This post was originally published on March 11, 2020. It was most recently updated on October 12, 2021.