Medical Marijuana, Medical Exception?

State Marijuana Laws in 2016 (Post-Election)

Image Source: governing.com 

Here's what you should know as of the November 8 election:

• There are now eight states that have passed laws permitting recreational use of marijuana: Maine, California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. 

• Medical marijuana is now legal in 28 states and Washington, D.C. after ballot measures passed in North Dakota, Arkansas, Florida, and Montana. 

• Federally, marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

• Because of the DEA's imposed status, doctors can only "recommend" marijuana to patients. Federal law prohibits medical professionals from prescribing the drug. 

• Rates of marijuana use in states that have legalized marijuana in some form have increased exponentially compared to those that have not. (Source, page 5)

• The average THC concentrations in cannabis have continued to increase, while the medicinal, non-psychoactive ingredient, cannabidiol (CBD), has not. (Source) 

What this means for athletes:

• Marijuana is still prohibited/banned in sport or considered a drug of abuse. 

• Drug-testing sanctions for marijuana-positive tests, as designated by each sport organization, still apply in states where marijuana has been legalized. 

• Marijuana's cannabinoids are stored in fat. The increasing potency of THC in marijuana means it can take longer for the drug to be metabolized and cleared from the body. (READ: Using marijuana over the holidays, and hoping for clean urine upon returning to practice is probably not the best idea.)

• There are NO medical exceptions (MEs) or therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for marijuana in sport. Athletes will not be granted a ME or TUE, even if a doctor has "prescribed" marijuana.

Other athlete-health implications to consider:

• Legalization of marijuana in Colorado has shown an increase in alcohol consumption—separately from the increase in marijuana-infused beers and wines on the market. (Source, page 26)

• Post-legalization of marijuana: DUI cases related to driving while high, and traffic fatalities where the driver tested positive for marijuana have increased in Washington State and Colorado, respectively. (Source, pages 17-18)

Share your thoughts with us on social media (#EducateDrugFreeSport) or request a speaker on marijuana to educate your athletes!

Today's Marijuana Isn't Smoked in Joints, but With the Help of a Blowtorch.

Here’s what we learned about today's marijuana from our speakers at the Sport Exchange Summit last week:

YES, the traditional, herbal cannabis sativa and cannabis indica are botanical plants.

NO, many new users are not smoking herbal cannabis anymore—more on edibles and butane hash oil (BHO) later.

YES, recreational marijuana is legal in four states (Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska), and the District of Columbia.

NO, medical marijuana is not covered through medical exceptions or therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) in sport.

YES, there are some medicinal benefits from the cannabidiol (CBD) components of the flower.

NO, the CBD concentrations of marijuana are not increasing with rising THC potency.

Slide Courtesy of CeDAR speakers Dr. LaTisha Bader and Ben Cort, July 2016. 

Slide Courtesy of CeDAR speakers Dr. LaTisha Bader and Ben Cort, July 2016. 

YES, the THC (psychoactive element) concentration of marijuana is increasing exponentially.

NO, THC-laced edibles and drinks aren’t better or “healthier” forms of consumption.

YES, marijuana is being marketed blatantly to all generations, income levels, and demographics—even to children.

NO, marijuana is not “safer” than alcohol or other illicit drugs.

YES, 1 in 6 adolescents and 1 in 10 adults who try marijuana will become addicted to it.

NO, 420 is not as relevant as 710 in 2016.

Slide Courtesy of CeDAR speakers Dr. LaTisha Bader and Ben Cort, July 2016. 

YES, butane is used to strip the THC from marijuana plant material to create BHO concentrates.

NO, not all of the butane is removed before users light up a blow torch and take a “dab” hit to get high.

Slide Courtesy of CeDAR speakers Dr. LaTisha Bader and Ben Cort, July 2016. 

YES, BHO concentrates are up to 90% THC and deliver the equivalent of smoking 5 joints in just one dab hit. 

NO, marijuana and THC-containing edibles or oils are not regulated to ensure safety, efficacy, or truth in labeling.

Slide Courtesy of CeDAR speakers Dr. LaTisha Bader and Ben Cort, July 2016. 

YES, that means that one “serving” of an edible (10mg = legal dose) could be as small as the ear of a gummy bear—NOT the whole bear, or the full package of six gummy bears sold to the user.

NO, legalization hasn’t made marijuana less of a concern.

OH, and did we mention the significant (and irreversible) decline in IQ points seen in frequent users?

Colorado-based addiction practitioner and licensed psychologist, Dr. LaTisha Bader, and long-term recovered addict, Ben Cort, shocked and awakened attendees at the 2016 Sport Exchange Summit with their straight-forward and relevant presentation on marijuana.  Their message to all members of the “team behind the team”—including parents—was to “know your 2-minute talk.” Understand behavior change, know the perceptions surrounding use, know the consequences of use, and set expectations with athletes. Express your concern and engage in well-informed dialogue on the subject. 

Slide Courtesy of CeDAR speakers Dr. LaTisha Bader and Ben Cort, July 2016. 

For additional help and resources, we’ve provided some links below.

More Education on Marijuana: 

• The Drug Free Sport Speakers Bureau is scheduling education sessions for Fall 2016 and Spring 2017. To invite a speaker to your campus to discuss marijuana or other issues in sport, please contact our Education Program Manager, Anna Filardo, at afilardo@drugfreesport.com or 816-285-1429.

 

• Join Dr. LaTisha Bader and Ben Cort for their webinar "New Trends & Consequences of Marijuana Use Today"  hosted by Drug Free Sport. The live webinar will be on August 23, 2016, from 1-2pm Central Time. Click here to register. Space is limited to the first 100 registrants. 

Resource Links:

CeDAR/University of Colorado Hospital (Ascent Track)

Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana)

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA)

Peer reviewed, Published Studies and Other Resources on Marijuana:

Hall, W. (2015), What has research over the past two decades revealed about the adverse health effects of recreational cannabis use?. Addiction, 110: 19–35. doi: 10.1111/add.12703

Adverse Health Effects of Marijuana Use, by Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Ruben D. Baler, Ph.D., Wilson M. Compton, M.D., and Susan R.B. Weiss, Ph.D., published online June 4, 2014 in The New England Journal of Medicine

Marta Di Forti, Arianna Marconi, Elena Carra, Sara Fraietta, Antonella Trotta, Matteo Bonomo, et al. Proportion of patients in south London with first-episode psychosis attributable to use of high potency cannabis: a case-control study. The Lancet Psychiatry, Vol. 2, No. 3, p233–238. Published online: February 16, 2015

Rocky Mountain HIDTA Volume 2/August 2014 Report, “The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact.”

Marijuana Legalization in Colorado: Early Findings. March 2016.  Produced by the Colorado Department of Public Safety.

Social Media: Benefitting A Drug-Free Sports Culture

Millennials’ use of the digital world is well-known and documented. This group of people, born between 1982 and 2004 according to most sources, are accustomed to immediate access to information. Long gone are the days of flipping through encyclopedias or even reference books for information; a simple Google search provides many more options. According to the American Press Institute, 88% of Millennials get news from Facebook, with 33% getting news from Twitter. They say that it exposes them to multiple opinions and views, making them have sculpted opinions from several sources. Many find out about sports results, health news and recommendations from peers and sources that they’ve never met – forming new camaraderie and trust in the process. Three-quarters of Millennials have an account on a social networking site, compared with only half of Generation Xers and less than a third of the Baby Boomers, according to Ibid and a White House report on the age group.

Courtesy, American Press Institute.

This group, varying in age from 12 – 34, is the core range of most high school, collegiate, amateur, and professional athletes.

While it’s impressive and convenient to get an immediate pulse on issues and news, one needs to be mindful of the accuracy and misinformation that is quickly disseminated in the race to be first to market or the first to “post”. They’re checking their accounts and acting upon the information.

It’s no coincidence that at Drug Free Sport, we have increased our social media outreach within the past six months, in an effort to provide informative posts on supplements (including FDA recalls), sport drug education, sport drug testing, events, and other current happenings in the world of sports that will benefit our athletes, their families, and their support teams. Additionally, it’s a way to listen, learn and engage with peers on topics that could benefit the entire sports community. Drug Free Sport is proud to have industry-leading technology and awareness on digital trends, including in social media.

We encourage all of our athletic administration partners, student-athletes, professional athletes and their support team members to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and/or LinkedIn, to hear about up-to-date events in the field. As we further develop our Webinar content, this will expand our digital footprint onto video-based social media outlets. It’s a great – and often times fun – reminder of the importance of making and encouraging good decisions within your circles of influence.

Drug Free Sport on Social Media:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/drugfreesport
Twitter: @drug_free_sport 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-national-center-for-drug-free-sport-inc-

Hashtag: #DrugFreeSport 

Drug Free Sport's Continuing Education Awards Celebrate Athletic Trainers in National Athletic Training Month!

March brings about many things in the athletics world – spring, “Madness” in college basketball, the start of baseball – but it is also important for the unsung heroes behind these feats. This month is National Athletic Training Month, a time where many athletes across America have taken to showing appreciation for the men and women that keep them on the fields and courts of the sports world.

Drug Free Sport is proud to acknowledge these valuable contributors. Along with their day-to-day duties that often make for long hours, they are also on the front lines of drug abuse prevention and drug education for student-athletes. Frankly, their contributions go relatively unnoticed to many when the winning shot or touchdown is scored or when an athlete is being interviewed for recovering from an injury beyond expectations. They spend most days devoted to the greater good of others. We would like to devote a special honor upon them, to better their careers and experience.

Since 2013, Drug Free Sport has awarded more than $20,000 to high school and college athletic trainers who are working in drug use deterrence. This year, in honor of National Athletic Training Month, we have extended our submission deadline for the 2016 Drug Free Sport Fund Continuing Education Awards to May 1. Awards can be used toward continuing education opportunities, including the “Sport Exchange Summit, Powered by Drug Free Sport” in July. If you would like to be considered or know of an AT that is deserving of one of these awards, please review our qualifications and the application process on the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation website. Multiple awards (at a minimum of $1,000 per non-renewable award) will be granted, depending on the number and quality of applicants.

Thanks to all athletic trainers for the important work that is being done to educate athletes on the perils of drug abuse.

For additional questions about the award or application process, please feel free to contact Gene Willis, Director of Marketing, at gwillis@drugfreesport.com.