Professional surfers are certainly jumping on the CBD bandwagon. But will things work?Photo: Unsplash
In 2019, WSL welcomes its first CBD sponsor. CBDMD, Since then, professional surfers have continued to seek out cannabidiol products like dominoes. They also excitedly share how CBD tinctures, capsules, and balms can benefit everything from recovery, pain management, joint health to anxiety, and in turn, help improve your surfing. Masu.
But the WSL is also sponsored by Corona and Red Bull, and no one is telling you to drink two of those a day.
Hemp-derived CBD has become a cash crop since it was legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill. if This product contains less than 3 percent THC and recently Forbes Health According to the research report, 60 percent of Americans I tried CBD products last year. CBD market valued at $18 billion 2022, New York-based investment bank Cowen & Company estimates the market could earn $15. a billion By 2025.
Of course there are surfers Feel the CBD atmosphere. Professional athletes are always looking for holistic treatments to help them avoid painkillers and pharmaceuticals, but most professional surfers suffer from distressing symptoms. low pay, I’m not an expert on endorsement deals. But for the average unsponsored surfer, it can be difficult to distinguish between “real” testimonials and exaggerated paid advertising.
Selfishly, I wonder: Do we know enough about the benefits of CBD to spend our hard-earned money on these products? Can CBD really help our bodies and in turn affect our surfing?
The enthusiastic and sometimes gushing testimonies of Mason Ho, Billy Kemper, Kasia Meador, Flynn Novak and others seem too good to be true. Novak said. surf line People say that taking a CBD tincture before bed helped them sleep better, had more dreams, and felt completely better. “It has been played.”
Mason Ho wrote that he is his sponsor. Nanocraft CBD This has kept his “acute minor injuries to a minimum” and kept him feeling “young and ready.”
Cassia Medor Billy Kemper said that taking Elixinol CBD is a panacea for everything from improving sleep to jet lag to supporting neurological function after a concussion. Metella CBD “Incredible strength.” Kemper says CBD has helped him recover from a broken pelvis and collapsed lung, and has “significantly reduced inflammation, improved appetite, and sleeps better.” I have become more resilient,” he said.
Our surf collection of pro-CBD gear goes on and on. After all, we should all be overjoyed if the world-class surfers who constantly wring their bodies for our entertainment are finding effective, natural relief. Even if CBD works for 1 in 1,000 people, it’s worth it for that 1 person, right?
Despite the money and fervor, recent data on the benefits of CBD are inconclusive. Cochrane, an international network registered not-for-profit organization based in the UK, provides concrete evidence-based data to clinicians, patients, researchers and policy makers. Cochrane review is recognized by medical experts as the highest quality medical data synthesis available. In 2018, a study titled “Cannabis Products for Adults with Chronic Neuropathic Pain” concluded that “there is a lack of sufficient evidence that cannabis-derived products are effective for chronic neuropathic pain.” I did.
Similarly, the National Library of Medicine published a study in 2022 entitled “Efficacy, Safety, and Regulation of Cannabidiol for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review.” The results acknowledge that CBD: did it CBD is non-addictive, making it a potential replacement for opioids. However, the study concluded that “CBD as an adjunct for chronic pain is gaining popularity, but there is insufficient evidence to make an appropriate recommendation.”
moreover, Association of American Medical Colleges in 2023 We speculated that there were “some indications” that CBD might help with anxiety, but our findings are limited. The researchers also found that while the effects of CBD on sleep are “fairly inconclusive,” the study holds some promise for insomniacs. Results regarding pain management were also mixed, but the effectiveness of higher doses was not investigated; did Researchers found that topical CBD helped patients with peripheral neuropathy (damage to the nerves located outside the brain and spinal cord) with reduced cold, itching, and overall pain.
Most CBD research in the past few years has focused on estimating the value of CBD, unlocking its potential role as mainstream medicine, how much to take, and how to understand its long-term effects and effects. , concludes with the fact that well-designed and scientifically valid clinical trials are needed. There may be drawbacks.
But studying substances that have fallen victim to a lack of corporate oversight across markets can be difficult. multiple Reports show that many CBD products are mislabeled regarding their content. Additionally, many companies are inconsistent with their dosages. For example, medical researchers at Johns Hopkins University rampant misrepresentation Introduction to CBD products.
One bright spot occurs when CBD is combined with THC, utilizing what cannabinoid researchers call the “entourage effect.” In clinical trials, Sativex, A spray containing equal amounts of CBD and THC has proven to be highly successful as an anesthetic for cancer-related pain and MS. The spray is approved to treat cancer pain in Canada and MS-related pain in the United Kingdom, and is currently undergoing clinical trials for use in the United States.
As always, while the U.S. health care system is conducting trials of Sativex, it remains overly cautious about its future use. Perhaps this is an example of how the U.S. medical community, the FDA, and the entire U.S. Department of Health and Human Services bureaucracy continue to deliberately ignore what professional surfers have to say. and other athletes too – Shouting from the rooftops.
But when I asked Dr. Brian Sullivan, a family physician in Redmond, Oregon, for his thoughts on CBD’s potential benefits, he offered a real-world example to illustrate the current lack of concrete data. Ta. Professor Sullivan hypothesized that “a handful of large, randomized, placebo-controlled studies would be needed to inform the debate about how many generations of people need infant aspirin treatment.” It is necessary.” 10 years To prevent a heart attack at all. ” Unfortunately, Sullivan doesn’t think similar comprehensive research on CBD will be published anytime soon, and remains skeptical of this type of unproven treatment for patients.
Now, in the comments section, we’re talking about how big pharma is corrupting and hiding the truth, and how CBD and THC are being used to treat everything from broken legs to bruised hearts. You can almost hear their vengeful scribbles, raving about everything. I understand that. As much as I’m skeptical of these big organizations and bureaucracies, I’m open to treatments that also work with CBD and THC.
But I’m also skeptical of commercial companies that charge average income surfers exorbitant prices for rope wallets and the hemp used to make the ropes. surf shoes A while ago.Data and science should be at the center of this decision – unless we currently are. A war with science?
Let’s go back to Dr. Sullivan. “Data is so important because otherwise you’re just acting emotionally,” says Dr. Sullivan.Sullivan believes that humans are primarily emotional presenceTherefore, our brains are not shaped to make decisions based on evidence, but rather on emotion, and we only have “modest and variable logical abilities.” .
Do surfers crave the effects of CBD so much that they drop tinctures, fall into waves, and imagine a placebo effect? Second, do you want to allow ads featuring revealing pro surfers? tearing waves And pose with CBD to influence us? of course we! People love advertising.haven’t you seen Super Bowl? We’re forever on the lookout for brilliant, transformative products that make us different, cooler, and perhaps improve our cost savings. As Sullivan suggests, “Data is especially important when ulterior motives are present…[motives] That can influence our decisions, such as our ability to make money selling a treatment or the existence of a cultural bias that a potential treatment is “cool.” ”
Surfing is cool, and related to that, so is CBD. Kale, clean eating, self-care, raw milk, juice cleanses, paleo, brain boosters, natural energy, digital detox, personalized medicine, intermittent fasting, ice baths, ecotherapy – these trends have become “cool” in recent years. It was considered. , and some of them went the way of the dodo.
Ultimately, consider all the facts and do what makes you feel good. But, my friends, remain skeptical and make decisions based on your own needs, not what others say. As Sullivan asks, “What better way to get parents to stick with it than by championing the endless health benefits of a plant that historically gets people suspended from high school?”
Thank you, Doctor. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
