Bruket av cannabis inom kampsport och MMA har debatterats mycket under lång tid, om huruvida det kan användas som ett prestationshöjande medel eller inte. Två av de mest kända ansiktena inom MMA som är öppna med sitt bruk är bröderna Nick och Nate Diaz, som tidigare hamnat i blåsväder angående drogen.
Nick testade tidigare positivt för cannabismetaboliter efter sin match mot Anderson Silva 2015 och fick från början en dom på livstids avstängning, som sedan reducerades till 5 år. Man sänkte sedan detta till 18 månader, vilket fortfarande var ett högre straff än vad Silva fick då han testat positivt för en otillåten substans efter samma match.
Andra personligheter inom MMA som öppet brukar cannabis och är positiva till legaliseringen är Joe Rogan och Eddie Bravo.
Mellanviktsmästaren Michael Bisping anser att cannabis är acceptabelt att använda sig utav, så länge det är utanför tävlingssammanhang, men skeptiskt till att det inte skulle ha några prestationshöjande effekter.
Det här berättade Bisping via podcasten ’Believe You Me’:
You’re allowed to smoke weed. If you choose to, if that’s what you like to do, you’re allowed to smoke weed outside of competition. The way it works is that USADA is putting you in competition and out of competition. In competition is 12 hours before the fight or 12 hours after, or until you have been seen by a doctor or you’ve been giving a urine or blood sample.
So out of competition, as long as as it’s not performance enhancing, you can smoke weed, you can do recreational drugs, you can do whatever want as long as it’s not performance enhancing. If you go to the USADA website, there’s all the information that has every type of drug listed, every kind of substance which is allowed and which isn’t allowed. And it’s all in the category of in competition and out of competition. If it’s in or or under the tab of in competition, you can go to town. If Nick Diaz wants to smoke weed, if Jon Jones wants to do cocaine or whatever it is they want to do, they can do it out of competition.
It’s tricky though, It takes 30 days for weed to get out of your system, but let’s say you test positive for weed and you go ’hold on a minute, I haven’t smoked in over a month’, and you get into that territory of trying to prove that you haven’t.
First and foremost, I don’t think weed should be a legal drug. I don’t think that marijuana should be legal, I think it’s a gateway drug and children start on that and then they move on to other things. You can say whatever you want but that’s how I feel.
I just think that if you legalize it completely, you’re sending a message to children that there’s nothing wrong with it and more people will be inclined to try it. Therefore it might lead on to other things. Maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know. Maybe I’ve got a stick up my ass, do whatever you want. If you wanna smoke weed, go for it. I could care less.
When we move into the fighting thing, should you be allowed to go out there and smoke weed before a fight? I say no, you shouldn’t, because if you smoke weed and you’re one of these guys that go out of bed and smoke shit straight away and that’s how they live their lives… In some ways, that might be a performance enhancer. Maybe that puts them up in a higher place.
Eddie Bravo and Joe Rogan and a lot of jiu-jitsu guys talk about how creative they get when they smoke weed, you know. And I mean, I don’t know but that sounds like a load of shit if you ask me but I don’t smoke weed so I don’t know. Will it dull the pain, will it give better tolerance for pain? Who knows, will it allow you to get into this higher plane where you.. I don’t know, there’s a lot of ways that it could alter the mindset and the fighting business is predominantly a mental game. Of course it’s very very physical but it’s 90 percent mental, I’m telling you.
I don’t think anyone should go to jail or be criminalized, one hundred percent. You shouldn’t be a criminal if you’re caught with it. Far from it, if that’s what it sounded like then I’m incorrect. I just don’t think it should be like dispensaries all over the place in every street corner like when you buy brews, which is where we will end up one day. I just don’t think that’s smart, but if people wanna smoke weed, go ahead. Suit yourself, you know what I mean? I couldn’t care less, it doesn’t bother me and good for you, whatever you like. I’ve got my vices, you know what I’m saying? I have no problem, I just don’t think it should be encouraged in everyday society.
I’m not saying you can break your arm just because you’re stoned and you’re not gonna feel it, of course you’re gonna feel it. I just think that at some point, you’re gonna have to draw the line. I mean I don’t think, I could be mistaken but I don’t think that you’re allowed to drink alcohol and compete, but I don’t know why you would want to do that. Stupidest thing ever. You can’t do that and you’re gonna have to draw a line and you can’t smoke weed and go and fight.
I think that’s a pretty broad statement, if you wanna smoke weed, go ahead but guess what. 12 hours before, you can’t and 12 hours after, you can. Just that 24 hour window, and if you can’t give it up for that 24 hour window, you’ve got a problem.
Transkribering: P.K. Posch
