McCartney et al. 2020, cannabidiol and sports performance (review)

Narrative review in Sports Medicine – Open of the evidence on cannabidiol (CBD) and sports performance. Its central conclusion is that studies directly investigating CBD in athletes are lacking: there is no direct evidence that CBD improves performance or recovery, and well-controlled studies in athletes are needed before any conclusion can be drawn. The mechanisms of interest to athletes, among them reduced anxiety, better sleep, pain relief, anti-inflammatory action, protection of the gut lining and neuroprotection after head impacts, rest largely on preclinical animal work and a small number of clinical trials in non-athlete populations. The authors describe the available evidence as preliminary, at times inconsistent, and largely based on laboratory animals; anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects are robust in animal models but limited and inconclusive in humans, and the sleep signal rests mostly on case reports.