Oftentimes, athletes have to stay away from their job to deal with injuries and recover, but athletes may be able to return to their career sooner if cannabis was being used as a recovery aid. In the essay, Lee says, “…another cannabinoid in weed, the aforementioned CBD—which, notably, doesn’t get users stoned—is now widely recognized for its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties…”(Lee 4). This quote showed me that legalizing marijuana would be very beneficial to those athletes who are struggling to get back in the game due to their injuries. The quote that Lee provided also helps clarify that athletes would not be using marijuana to get stoned, just for therapeutic reasons. The essay mentions several times that smoking marijuana allows for the body to calm down and not be so tense. Lee mentions this idea and says, “That’s when the CBD compounds help tremendously. They calm down your legs and, because they’re anti-inflammatory, let them recover faster” (Lee 3). Allowing the body to calm down in the midst of a training session would help athletes …show more content…
Several athletes have been using marijuana as a way to make their training and workout sessions much easier. “Puff Puff Lift” mentions that some athletes are skeptical of admitting their use of marijuana. In Weinreb’s article, he says, “A lot of the guys I have talked to, they're nervous to be seen or speak out about it because they think it might upset a sponsor or whatever…” (Weinreb 1). Some athletes refuse to admit that the use of marijuana is present during their workouts, but others, even the most elite athletes are confessing that marijuana has helped them improve their skills while training. The skills that are improving are those of the mind. Something in the world has changed, and athletes now feel confident to come out and say that they are using the cannabis. I believe that if athletes have the confidence to stand up for something that they could lose sponsors for, then it might be worth a chance to at least consider. Lee shows a quote given by Arnold Schwarzenegger, a formal professional bodybuilder, which says, “We all hid it. But the collective consciousness has changed to take that stigma away…I’ve had to hide this my whole life as an athlete. But now I can stand up and feel proud about it!” (Lee 3). Schwarzenegger is referring to his use of marijuana, which shows that even the most popular