Randonee (Mid-Week Post) for April 20, 2022 – International 420 Day

In honor of International 420 day, I’m sharing a post from bikepacking.com about the merits of CBD in sport. I’ll admit it, I’ve been a long-time user of marijuana, which started in my teenage years. Of course, at that time, I used such substances (along with other drugs and alcohol) to cut loose on a weekend night (sometimes even on weekdays after school).

It wasn’t until much later in my life that I began to use marijuana as an enhancement for creativity and to treat my lifelong symptoms of depression. I still use it primarily for these reasons, but not as frequently as in my youth.

But today, I’m happy to proclaim, marijuana is not an underground nor highly illegal activity as it once was. In many states in the United States and across the globe, it has been legalized for regular or medicinal usage.

But the other area, of course, where the properties of marijuana (cannabis) are used is in CBD (short for cannabidiol) for treating anxiety and a host of other human ailments. CBD contains no THC, which is the ingredient that creates that high when marijuana is inhaled or by other means.

Unfortunately, the FDA has been slow to approve CBD because not enough studies have been done to tout its positive effects. So, for now, CBD is only approved for the treatment of epilepsy.

However, quite a few years ago now after Floyd Landis won the Tour de France and then had his victory taken away due to alleged illegal drug usage, Landis started a CBD company. From that point forward, CBD created a slow burn in the cycling world, and its uses for natural performance enhancement and treatment for inflammation have become well regarded. Even famed cycling coach Chris Carmichael talks about the positives of CBD and how it helped him survive an Amgen Tour of California experience hosted by his company

Personally, I’ve never tried CBD, but I will say that I’m very interested. Although I do my occasional vape of marijuana, I realize that is not the healthiest way to get the positive effects. There are times when I like the high but also times I just need to destress and be able to sleep, which is something I suffer with.

I like that CBD can be dispensed in many ways. You can supposedly use a few drops under the tongue or even as a cream for sore muscles. It all depends on what your personal goals are with the product.

What are your thoughts about CBD? Have you tried it? If you have tried it, what was your response? Would you recommend it for use? Please like and comment on this post and let me know.