EXPLAINER: How does marijuana use affect sportspeople?

On Tuesday 4 June, the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) released a shocking list of 33 sportspersons who have been provisionally suspended for various anti-doping infringements.

The updated list, which is still not available on the ADAK website, is also reported to include 26 other athletes, plus high-profile basketballers and rugby players.

Joshua Belet among 33 sportspersons provisionally suspended for doping

One of the prohibited substances that was found in most of the sportspeople was Cannabinoid, which is linked to Cannabis.

Among the rugby players involved are KCB Rugby’s Brian Wahinya and Kenya Harlequin duo of Zeden Lutomia and Charlton Mokua.

In basketball, a shocking name on the list is Kenya Morans player Albert Odero, currently playing for Kenyan side Nairobi City Thunder, who has also been suspended for the presence of cannabinoids.

This led to hundreds of questions from social media users on how the drug, commonly referred to as ‘weed’ in Kenya affects players.

Mozzart Sport explains:

A quick refresher course on how marijuana works: When you ingest dried flowers of the cannabis plant called marijuana whether through smoking, vaping, or eating edibles, its chemical compounds or cannabinoids combine with your brain and body’s receptors to regulate pain, emotions, appetite, and memory.

History dates back to 2021 when US track and field star Sha’Carri Robinson was denied a spot in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for THC, the main psychoactive component of marijuana. At the time, she was the best 100-meter contender for a gold medal in the global event.

Years earlier in 2006, US sprinter John Capel was banned for two years after testing positive for a second time. The International Olympics Committee at one point had to take away Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati’s gold medal because he tested positive.

Several countries like South Africa, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, and Canada have decriminalized the drug to some degree over the past decade. There has also been an increasing acceptance of cannabis for medical purposes, with many countries like the UK allowing medical marijuana.

Expert opinion

Iten-based Sports Expert Dr. Kipchumba Byron explained that marijuana has medical benefits but its long-term effects have not been fully adequately explored.

“Sometimes marijuana is used for mental illnesses, depression to calm individuals. Research also says that it could be a solution to cancer but that is an irony because part of the causes of cancer is smoking. So, I wonder how the smoke from marijuana is going to kill cancer,” Dr. Kipchumba humorously posed.

A ‘performance-enhancing substance’?

Marijuana has been banned by several bodies including the World Anti-Doping Agency for several reasons like its ability to enhance performance.

Dr. Kipchumba Byron defined doping as the use of prohibited substances like marijuana or EPO to enhance performance.

“Weed is a performance-enhancing substance. Doping is the use of substances like marijuana or EPO or other substances to enhance performance. At the end of the day, if what you are using makes you different from who you are, that is classified as doping. The purpose of all that is to enhance performance. There are drugs and substances that can enhance performance,” Dr. Kipchumba explained.

On the contrary, the scientific name of the hemp plant from which marijuana is derived has a reputation for decreasing athletic performance.

Other researchers suggest that the plant might be a double-edged sword for professional athletes.

Reuben Kipyego provisionally suspended for whereabouts failures

How are the body organs affected going into a match?

When the chemical compounds of marijuana combine with a sports person's brain and body receptors, it is likely to regulate feelings of pain or emotions.

According to Dr. Kipchumba, some of the effects of marijuana on sportspeople include double vision, poor judgment, increased level of confidence, and decreased stability. marijuana causes a malfunction in the human body organs.

“Physiologically most of the human organs will malfunction due to the use of marijuana. It can create a certain level of confidence for the athletes that they have power and one might be hyper acting because of inducement.

Also, the sense of judgment will be affected because most sports are mobile and if one is high on weed, they might not be stable,” Dr. Kipchumba shared.

Addiction is another side effect of long-term marijuana use. Dr. Kipchumba made the argument that those who are hooked are unlikely to do well since they won't be in the right frame of mind to play if they are not high.

“An addict is somebody who has a disease because of over-reliance on substances. It creates a sense of dependency so that individuals will not perform and if they lack it that leads to mental depression. Mentally depressed people are not fit to perform in the field,” Dr. Kipchumba said.

Drugs and the spirit of sport

Anything to do with drugs, according to the expert, goes against the spirit of sports. Some of the values and principles of clean sport include respect for rules and law, teamwork, dedication, and commitment.

“Sports are supposed to promote equality and fairness. If you are using substances that will give you an advantage over the others then it breaks that role of sports,” the expert said.

“Stop completely from smoking because it endangers lives, it is illegal especially when it is part of the prohibited substances in sports, maintain good ethics so we have a clean sport at the end of the day,” he advised sportspeople.

On players flagged for the use of cannabinoids, ADAK legal officer Bildad Rogoncho noted that they would have to prove that they did not use marijuana for performance enhancement.

“If they smoked cannabis sativa just before the matches then that is a straight two-year ban. However, if they took it out-of-competition and can prove that they didn’t use it for performance enhancement, then they will get three months,” Rogoncho told Mozzart Sport.