A new product brings together two of Las Vegas' emerging industries -- marijuana and sports.
The+Source has introduced a new cannabidiol vapor oil called "Golden Night" -- a play on the city's hockey team -- as a treatment for athletes who might suffer a variety of injuries.
"We aimed it at athletes with the idea being that the athletes are training all day, they’re training very hard," said Daniel Zarrella, director of marketing for The+Source. "At the end of the day, they need something that’s going to contribute to their athletic goals but will help them relax, help boost their mood, help them get a restful night of sleep.”
Now some may wonder how can athletes use the cannabidiol oil and not get in trouble. The World Anti-Doping Agency issued an update to its prohibited list in September removing cannabidiol oil, also known as CBD. But THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, remains a banned substance.
"So athletes can use CBD now, both in and out of competition," Zarrella said. "So CBD has some proven benefits in anti-inflammation and protective activity."
Athletes should still be cautious because the Golden Night does have THC in it and the packaging notes that. The packaging also says it "was produced without regulatory oversight for health, safety, or efficacy."
"Our product, Golden Night, is a 1 to 1 THC to CBD ratio. So there is some psychoactivity to it," Zarrella said. "You do get a little buzz, if you will, but it's not this overwhelming like 20 percent, 30 percent THC strain. It contains a lot more of the CBD cannabinoid, which is the one that doesn't get you high. It treats things like inflammation."
The legality also depends on whether an athlete is in competition or off-season. THC is prohibited in competition, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency.
"Depending on the sport, the way the testing works about THC is different as well. ...THC is not banned for out of competition," Zarrella said. "So if an athlete is out of their season, they are OK to smoke marijuana."
UFC star Nate Diaz has been among the advocates of using CBD along with some former NFL players. Las Vegas is known for UFC and will soon also host the Raiders. And of course, there's the Golden Knights.
"The sports that we are getting are also very high impact," Zarrella said. "They're the ones that tend to take a hard toll on athletes' bodies and the ones where we'd like them to find a healthy as possible way to indulge a little better and to make themselves feel better."
