For the first time, a professional athlete is allowed to legally use medical cannabis in preparation for a competition

If it is possible to obtain such documents in Canada, then in the United States there remain a significant number of obstacles for this permission not only to be granted, but also to be valid throughout the country. “Unfortunately, American athletes do not have the same ability to advocate the use of the therapeutic properties of cannabis, and certainly not the right to use it. I am looking forward to the opportunity to acquaint professional athletes with the mechanism according to which they can legally use the properties of the plant for medicinal purposes both in Canada and possibly in other jurisdictions, ”says Spartan. 

In January 2020, the British Columbia Athletic Commission authorized MMA fighter Elias Theodore to use the therapeutic properties of cannabis for medicinal purposes. This solution provides an opportunity for “Spartan” (the nickname of E. Teodoru in the ring) to use the medicinal properties of the plant as a medicine during training or competitive process without the risk of being punished or suspended from the competition.

The documents prepared by lawyers and doctors were submitted by Spartan to the competent authorities of Canada, which granted permission to use legal psychoactive cannabis for the treatment of pain associated with bilateral neuropathy. Following an accident that fractured his arms in two places and fractured bones in four more, he is constantly suffering from nerve damage in his upper limbs. As a professional athlete, he punches and kicks a lot, so his painful condition is gradually getting worse. That is why the athlete asked to be allowed to use therapeutic cannabis as the main form of pain relief, which does not have a negative effect on his body, unlike other synthetic or opioid drugs. In particular, before the filing of the petition, the athlete had been using powerful opioids for pain relief for quite some time, but the side effects he experienced from painkillers had a detrimental effect on his health.

According to Mr. Theodorou “I try to achieve a level playing field for any athlete. Anyone with the same injury as mine can take a handful of Vicodin (synthetic opioid) in order to enter the ring. At the same time, using a cannabis plant for the same purpose may result in long-term disqualification. "

Despite the fact that “Spartan” won the right to use the therapeutic properties of psychoactive cannabis throughout the entire pre-competition period, two days before the fight, E. Theodor switches exclusively to products that contain a high content of cannabidiol. “I believe in pure sports and transparency, so I am switching to CBD, essentially moving away from psychoactive ingredients to the anti-inflammatory properties of the hemp plant in the run-up to the rating fights,” says Mr. Theodoru.

According to "Spartan", professional athletes from other sports constantly turn to him with a question about the mechanism for obtaining similar documents. If it is possible to obtain such documents in Canada, then in the United States there remain a significant number of obstacles for this permission not only to be granted, but also to be valid throughout the country. “Unfortunately, American athletes do not have the same ability to advocate the use of the therapeutic properties of cannabis, and certainly not the right to use it. I am looking forward to the opportunity to acquaint professional athletes with the mechanism according to which they can legally use the properties of the plant for medicinal purposes both in Canada and possibly in other jurisdictions, ”says Spartan.

Commentary of the specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"

In 2014, mixed martial arts fighter Elias Theodoru became the first Canadian to win the mixed martial arts sports reality show “The Ultimate Fighter”.  

At the round table " Problems and prospects of the use of therapeutically active elements of hemp as a basis for nutraceuticals, medicinal cosmetics, animal feed or other products with healing properties of a plant ", which will be held for the listeners of the 6th stream of " Hemp University ", several professional athletes of our countries will talk about how their athletic performance has improved as a result of the use of sports supplements based on the therapeutic properties of therapeutically targeted technical hemp.

In connection with the outbreak of COVID 19 and the quarantine announced in connection with this in Kiev, training will be conducted using a secure and fully virtualized Cisco WebEx Meetings web conferencing solution. A link will be sent to the registered listeners by e-mail to participate in the event remotely.