The Real Reasons Athletes Use Cannabis: Stress, Pain, and Recovery

When people think about cannabis use in sports, the conversation often centers on one question: Does it improve athletic performance? That assumption has shaped public debates, anti-doping policies, and media coverage for years. Yet the reality appears to be far more complex.

Athletes operate in a unique environment filled with intense physical demands, constant evaluation, injury risks, travel schedules, and pressure to perform. From youth competitors striving for scholarships to professionals competing on the world stage, athletes face challenges that extend well beyond the playing field. As researchers continue to examine substance use in sports, a broader picture is beginning to emerge, one that suggests motivations may be rooted in the everyday realities of athletic life rather than simple recreation or competitive advantage.

A 2026 scoping review¹ published in the International Journal of Drug Policy aimed to learn more about athletes’ motivations surrounding cannabis use by exploring psychoactive drug use among athletes involved in organized sports. The findings offer important insights into why athletes may turn to substances such as cannabis and highlight factors that deserve greater attention from coaches, sports organizations, healthcare providers, and policymakers. Let’s dive in.

Why Athletes Use Cannabis

The review analyzed 38 studies examining psychoactive drug use among athletes and found that cannabis was the most frequently studied substance. Rather than identifying performance enhancement as the primary driver, researchers found that athletes often reported reasons connected to their overall well-being and experiences within the sport.

Many athletes viewed cannabis as a tool for relaxation after competition or training. High-level athletic participation can create significant mental and emotional strain, with athletes frequently balancing expectations from coaches, teammates, fans, sponsors, and themselves. Recovery, therefore, involves more than repairing muscles and replenishing energy stores; it can also mean managing stress and decompressing after intense competition.

Researchers found that perceived benefits often centered on mood enhancement and relaxation. For some athletes, cannabis use appeared connected to coping with the emotional demands of their sport rather than gaining a competitive edge.

The Hidden Role of Stress in Sports

Stress is often treated as an unavoidable part of athletic success. While some pressure can motivate performance, chronic stress can affect both physical and mental health. Athletes regularly face situations that can increase psychological strain. They may experience anxiety before major competitions, frustration during performance slumps, uncertainty about team selection, or concerns about future career prospects. Injuries can further intensify these challenges by limiting participation and disrupting goals.

The review suggests that understanding substance use among athletes requires acknowledging these pressures. In many cases, cannabis use may represent an attempt to manage stressors that are deeply embedded within sports culture. This perspective shifts the conversation away from viewing substance use solely as a rule violation and toward understanding the broader context in which athletes make decisions.

Cannabis for Sports Injuries and Recovery

Injuries emerged as another important factor linked to psychoactive drug use among athletes. Sports injuries can create both physical discomfort and emotional distress. Recovery periods may involve pain, reduced mobility, uncertainty about future performance, and feelings of isolation from teammates and competition. For athletes whose identity is closely tied to their sport, being sidelined can be particularly difficult.

The review found that some athletes perceived cannabis as helpful for coping with injuries and the recovery process. While perceptions do not necessarily reflect proven medical benefits, they help explain why cannabis appears repeatedly in discussions about athlete substance use. Understanding these motivations is critical because injury recovery represents a vulnerable period when athletes may be seeking ways to manage both physical and psychological challenges.

Sport Culture Influences Behavior

Athletes do not make decisions in isolation. Team environments, peer groups, and broader sport cultures can strongly influence attitudes and behaviors. The review identified social influences as a key theme associated with psychoactive drug use. Athletes are often surrounded by teammates, friends, and others within their sporting communities whose views may shape perceptions of substance use. When certain behaviors become normalized within a social group, individuals may be more likely to adopt similar habits.

Researchers found that peer substance use was a key factor associated with athlete drug use. This finding aligns with broader research showing that social environments can significantly influence health-related behaviors. Different sports may also develop distinct cultural norms. Athletes in some environments may encounter different expectations, traditions, or attitudes toward substance use than athletes in other sports.

Which Athletes Greater Risk?

The review identified several factors associated with increased risk of psychoactive drug use. Younger athletes appeared to be particularly vulnerable, highlighting the importance of early education and support programs. Male athletes were also more frequently associated with elevated risk in the studies examined.

Additional risk factors included low perceived competence, mood disorders, and participation in contact sports. Athletes experiencing doubts about their abilities or struggling with mental health challenges may face greater susceptibility to substance use.

Career transitions also stood out as an important consideration. Retirement from a competitive sport, for example, can represent a major life change. Athletes may lose routines, social networks, financial stability, and a central part of their identity. Such transitions can create stress that influences health behaviors, including substance use.

These findings suggest that risk is not distributed evenly across athletic populations and that prevention efforts may be most effective when they target specific vulnerable groups.

Rethinking Athlete Harm Reduction

The review arrives at a time when attitudes toward cannabis continues to evolve globally. As sports organizations reconsider policies and approaches, the findings highlight the importance of understanding motivations rather than focusing exclusively on punishment. Traditional approaches often emphasize whether an athlete used a prohibited substance. However, the current scientific evidence suggests that an equally important question is why the athlete used it in the first place.

If cannabis use is frequently connected to stress, injury recovery, mood management, or social influences, then effective prevention strategies should address those underlying factors. Mental health resources, injury support programs, stress-management training, and athlete-centered education may be just as important as rule enforcement.

Researchers argue that harm reduction and prevention initiatives should reach athletes who may be particularly vulnerable, including adolescents and those navigating challenging phases of their sporting careers.

A More Complete Picture of Cannabis Use in Sports

The scoping review challenges a long-standing assumption that athlete cannabis use is primarily about gaining a competitive advantage. Instead, the evidence points to a more nuanced reality shaped by stress, recovery needs, injuries, social influences, and the unique demands of the sport.

For athletes, performance is only one part of the story. Behind every competition is a person navigating physical strain, emotional pressures, relationships, setbacks, and recovery. Understanding those experiences may be essential for developing more effective approaches to athlete health and well-being.

As research continues to evolve, one message is becoming increasingly clear: conversations about cannabis in sports are most productive when they focus not only on what athletes use, but also on the challenges that lead them to use it.

References:

^{1. Mikko Lemettilä, Nina Vuori, Sofia Shamma, Xiang Yan, Katinka van de Ven, Marika Pohjanoksa-Mäntylä, Psychoactive drug use among athletes: motives and risk factors beyond sports performance – A scoping review, International Journal of Drug Policy, Volume 155, 2026, 105380, ISSN 0955-3959, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2026.105380}