Some inexperienced smokers who get really stoned when they smoke feel as though they can’t accomplish any tasks like running. Most daily smokers who have tried running while high would report that it is still quite possible. Some even believe it enhances the experience. There is also research on cannabis and running revealed anti-inflammatory effects. There were also reports of stress and muscle pain reduction, according to exercise physiologist Dr. Scott Weiss. So basically you’ll be in a better mood to run and the exercise should cause less damage while high.
Meet some stoned-runnersÂ
If you need more evidence that running and marijuana can go hand in hand, there’s a stoned-running club in New Orleans called Vapor Apollo. The founder of the group claims that running while high “encourages attention to detail and makes running less boring.” They’d like to “kill that stereotype of weed and laziness, if possible.”
Jasmine, a 27-year-old smoke shop owner who gets high before every run agreed. She was 60 pounds heavier four years prior and knew she needed to make a change. She hated running and team sports.
“No matter what anyone tells you, running is very uncomfortable,” she says. “It’s a constant battle to keep yourself moving forward. Long story short, I hated running and I happen to know that marijuana is a great way to get myself to do the things that I don’t really want to do.”
One ultra-marathon runner Jeff Sperber has had three surgeries and stage four arthritis in his toe. He has a prescription pain medication but prefers not to use it because he claims, “I can’t do that stuff and function as a normal human being.” However, he says “as a weed smoker, I can function.”
Another ultra-marathon runner, Avery Collins says, “it’s pretty simple. I enjoy going on runs when I’m high. He said that cannabis does not grant him a competitive advantage but it makes practicing for long races more enjoyable and calms his muscles post-run. So athletes aren’t using marijuana as a performance enhancing drug when running. They’re just using it when they’re not competing.
Combination of runners high and marijuana high
According to a study published online, the same neurotransmitter that makes the body relaxed is triggered by both exercise and ingesting marijuana.
“Exercise causes the body to produce a particular neurotransmitter that makes the body relaxed-the same one triggered by smoking marijuana”
“When volunteers exercise for 30 minutes, the level of endocannabinoid anandamide in their bloodstream goes up.”
Dr. Johannes Fuss, researcher at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, auhored a study that found “emotional benefits after acute exercise, often termed as a runner’s high.” Much like THC exercise causes anandamide to work with the endocannabinoid system affecting emotions. People who experience a runners high report feelings of euphoria much like smokers of sativa cannabis strains.
In conclusion
There are currently no definitive studies on marijuana’s performance enhancing effects. The World Anti-Doping Agency said in 2013, the level of acceptable marijuana in an athlete’s system was increased so that out of competition use would not disqualify anyone. So far any use before a sporting event is still forbidden. However, marijuana can aid runners outside of competition with motivation and pain relief.
