It makes perfect sense that a rapper’s basketball league would be the first professional sports outfit to allow the use of cannabidiol, or CBD, for its players. I mean, there’s a long history of Mary Jane and hip-hop, and hip-hop and sports, so why not A=C: weed and sports?
The New York Daily News reports that Ice Cube’s Big3, the professional three-on-three basketball league founded in January 2017, will allow CBD for its second season, which began last week in Houston.
In a press release, the league said that it is allowing “access to CBD for use in pain management and recovery.”
“As a testament to our relationship with our players, we listened to their feedback on CBD, as well as feedback from professionals in the regulatory and CBD industry, and decided to take this major step to support their health,” Big3 co-founder and co-CEO Jeff Kwatinetz said in a press release.
According to Quartz: “CBD is one of the many chemical compounds in a class called ‘cannabinoids’ that naturally occur in cannabis plants. While THC is the most famous of cannabinoids for its ability to get us high, CBD is a rapidly rising star for its capacity to deliver mental and physical benefits without the giggles, paranoia, or couch-lock.” In essence, it will not get you high but wields the medicinal benefits of marijuana.
Earlier this year, CBD, which is one of 100 cannabinoids found in marijuana, was removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned-substances list, and as the Daily News notes, it has been medically proven to improve pain, limit muscle tightness and reduce anxiety.
Many former and current athletes believe that the plant-based drug is healthier and less addictive than the powerful pain medication that is often prescribed.
Former New York Giants defensive end Leonard Marshall says that he uses CBD daily to cope with symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the degenerative brain disease found in many football players.
“My quality of life has improved because of [CBD],” Marshall said to the Daily News.