Beginning in 2018, the World Anti-doping agency (WADA) is taking Cannabidiol (CBD) off their banned substance list, mmafighting.com reports.
“Cannabidiol is no longer prohibited. Synthetic cannabidiol is not a cannabimimetic; however, cannabidiol extracted from cannabis plants may also contain varying concentrations of THC, which remains a prohibited substance,” per WADA’s official report.
This is great news for professional, professional fighters in particular. Professional fighters are at severe risk of head trauma, and many are at risk for CTE at the closure of their careers. CTE is short for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It’s a brain disease caused from sustaining injuries to your head and brain, like concussions.
There are multiple reports of ex-professional athletes treating brain trauma with CBD: Kyle Turley, Leonard Marshall, and Ricky Williams. CBD is neural protective and can protect the neurons and potentially even help repair them, Sports Illustrated reports. Ricky Williams even sells his own organic hemp CBD tincture designed for athletes from Honeybhealthyliving.com.
CBD was thrust into the MMA culture when Nate Diaz was vaping CBD oil from a vape pen prior to his loss in the Conor McGregor rematch. Reporters asked him what he was vaping and Diaz responded, “it’s CBD, It helps with the healing process and inflammation, stuff like that. So you want to get these for before and after the fights, training. It’ll make your life a better place.”
It’s not clear how much Diaz’s vaping incident has to do with this rule change, but it obviously didn’t hurt. Diaz has said himself he “cashed out” in the cannabis industry after the press conference vaping incident. Even before that, Nate Diaz and his older brother Nick were well-known cannabis connected athletes.
Maybe this rule change is coincidental, or maybe it’s another tale told of the Nate Diaz legend.
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