Новости/Аналитика

Without amending the current legislation of our country, the use of the best practices of national specialists is mostly implemented outside of Ukraine . This is despite the fact that examples of the effective use of biologically active additives using the therapeutic properties of technical hemp, including in our country, exist and suggest that the athletes using them taking part in competitions at various levels are not only competing, they are “sharpened” »And regularly set national / European / world records .

Manufacturers of CBD products today are looking for new market opportunities for the development of their business . Increasingly, they are investing in an actively developing market for sports nutrition and at the same time attracting sports stars to implement their marketing strategies related to the promotion of anti-inflammatory and restoring properties of hemp plants . Some experts in the hemp market predict that the hemp sector of canabidiol preparations will grow to $ 81.5 billion by 2023.

In particular, the founder of Colorado CBD Tim Gordon, developing a series of products using cannabidiol , which is intended for a healthy diet , has seen a significant increase in interest in hemp products among athletes and not only. To promote such sports lines as EndoSport, specially designed for active training of athletes , companies are developing specially targeted marketing campaigns that are intended separately for golfers, football players, and other athletes . The Company raised approximately 60 professional athletes to promote their products , using advertising all sorts of exhibitions, conferences , meetings and other activities , focused on sports . 

Clinical studies on the effect of CBD drugs on the human body allowed the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to remove cannabidiol from the list of banned substances in 2018, which also became an additional “incentive” to promote a series of products and drugs with CBD , intended for athletes . 

The decision of the Canadian agency responsible for the World Anti-Doping Code, which is used by more than 600 sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), was approved after extensive debate in the sports community, where they debated whether cannabidiol should be equated with illegal drugs, which increase productivity, such as anabolic steroids. Further, within a few months after the changes made by WADA regarding CBD preparations , the governing bodies that oversee such sports as golf, tennis, rugby and non-regular fights allowed their athletes to use the appropriate hemp products .

The rules of professional sports leagues in the USA are also subject to transformation. Literally at the beginning of December, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that plant-based cannabinoids  would no longer be considered narcotic drugs and other control and accounting methods would be applied to them.

The National Football League (NFL) undertook to reconsider its attitude to the use of CBD products to restore and maintain its athletes . However, not all athletes are still allowed to use CBD products . WADA Anti-Doping Regulators do not allow CBD products that even contain trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol. In September, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) temporarily (six months) suspended Colorado triathlete Lauren Goss, who won 11 Ironman titles, after an unsuccessful test for THC. The athlete suggests that the cause of the failed test could be the use of a cream to relieve pain with the content of CBD, which she used the day before. 

A former kickboxer and mixed martial artist, Brady Bell founded the Colorado-based company Pure Spectrum in 2015, which produces CBD products . Mr. Bell wanted to help those who want to use quality CBD products but cannot risk a positive THC test result. His first and regular customers were fellow athletes, military personnel and people leading an active lifestyle who want to be sure that there is not the slightest content of THC in the hemp products they consume .

Brady Bell actively collaborated with the American Triathlon Association (USAAT), representatives of the US Olympic Movement and other sports organizations. The efforts of Brady paid off this year, when in the USA the American Triathlon Association approved the use of Pure Spectrum products at an official level. Before receiving such approval, Brady Bella's company underwent numerous inspections and tests for almost a year, which, in the end, were successful and signing contracts for the supply of hemp products for use by athletes of the association. 

According to Brady, today his clients are more than 1,400 professional athletes, and the company's products are popularized by about 150 athletes who themselves actively use it. The company is confident in the quality of its products and that any athlete will pass a test for the absence of narcotic drugs in the body after consuming such drugs . 

Abacus Health Products from Rhode Island, in partnership with former sports football star Rob Gronkowski, is actively marketing its CBDMEDIC brand on the market. Tanner Puckett, marketing director for the Abacus brand, emphasizes that this is the first joint project with Mr. Gronkovsky, which will allow us to fully demonstrate to our people the company's capabilities in helping to combat pain syndromes in athletes . According to T. Packett, Gronkovsky learned about CBDMEDIC from his father and found that the product is effective in recovering from injuries. Gronkovsky eventually became an investor and co-owner of Abacus. The Abacus Active Sports product line is sold to athletes as a tool specifically to combat pain, which allows them to continue to actively engage in physical exercises and climb the career steps in sports. The main goal of the company today is to change the situation with the possibility of athletes using CBD products within the framework of the National Football League (NFL) association.

Oregon-based Mendi, also targeting TGC-free products , entered the market in August 2019 through online store sales , focusing primarily on professional footballers. Company CEO Rachael Rapinoe has a twin sister, who is the most famous active athlete who supports and uses CBD products . As the most valuable player of the 2019 World Cup tournament among women and the leader of the U.S. team , Megan Rapino recently became the first official representative of the Mendi brand. The company is convinced that hemp products that have not yet fully revealed their capabilities can become the basis for a healthy lifestyle . 

Commentary of the Ukrainian Technical Hemp Association

The possibilities of hemp plant are not fully disclosed at the moment, but even the effect that a person can feel today using hemp products already has a positive effect on the quality of life and its general condition. The round table “ Use of cannabinoids in the treatment of severe / chronic diseases ”, which will be held on December 17, will present a number of examples of the successful use of hemp products both for the treatment of severe forms of oncology and for the active recovery of athletes during their training and performances . Ukrainian specialists (doctors, pharmacists, chemists) together with their foreign colleagues develop hemp products that are unique in their characteristics , capable of not only supporting the human body at a critical moment in life, but also “putting on their feet” people who do not believe in traditional methods treatment. 

It is necessary to focus on the fact that, without amending the current legislation of our country, the use of the best practices of national specialists is mostly implemented outside of Ukraine . This is despite the fact that examples of the effective use of biologically active additives using the therapeutic properties of technical hemp , including in our country, exist and suggest that the athletes using them taking part in competitions at various levels are not only competing, they are “sharpened” »And regularly set national / European / world records .