CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of the most popular health products currently on the market. 

Taken from the cannabis sativa plant, CBD has shown positive results in improving a wide variety of conditions like seizures from epilepsy, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, arthritis, depression, muscle spasms and more. It’s available as a powder, oil, liquid and tincture, and it can be added to drinks, lotions, creams and even food. 

In addition to its stress-fighting and anxiety-reducing abilities, CBD may help athletes recover after long, physically-exhausting workouts. This is great news, since the World Anti-Doping Agency removed CBD from list of banned substances last year. Unlike THC, a psychoactive found in cannabis that produces the high that recreational marijuana is known for, CBD won’t alter the user’s mental state.

The PGA, or Professional Golfers’ Association of America, also allows its athletes to use CBD for issues like anxiety, post-workout recovery, stress relief and more. Like other professional sports organizations, players are banned from using recreational marijuana and are tested for THC. 

Andy Levinson, Executive Director of the PGA Tour’s Anti-Doping Program, says that the use of CBD has grown in popularity and more PGA Tour players have asked about its usage during the tournament. 

“CBD in its pure form is not prohibited,” Levinson told Golf Digest earlier this year. “But the use of CBD in any of its currently available forms would be at a player’s own risk.”

The CBD industry isn’t going anywhere. Market research firms predict that its booming growth is inevitable. Analytics from global research company Technavio claim that the CBD oil market will pull in a total of $1.9 billion over the next three years.

“People have a tendency to trust labels and if something says ‘all-natural’ or ‘safe for athletes’ or something like that, there is really no recourse for that to be put on a label and it not be true,” Levinson added. “So, if players want to take supplements, and a supplement can be anything from a multivitamin to CBD oil, we strongly suggest that they only use supplements from the NSF Certified for Sport List.”

Besides helping with workout recovery and muscle aches, CBD may improve a number of other issues, especially those related to mental health. An athlete’s life can be extremely stressful – physically demanding workouts, frequent travel and long periods away from home can take a toll on a person, and CBD may improve both the physical and mental well-being of athletes. 

Fourteen percent of people in the U.S. are already using products that contain cannabidiol, according to a Gallup Poll. 

The University of Miami is also conducting studies on using cannabidiol to treat concussions, and a medication called Epidiolex has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for helping with epilepsy in children. 

Consumer demand for CBD has significantly grown since the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill last December. The bill legalized the sales of commercial consumer products that comes from hemp, which means that any part of the plant can legally be used as long as its THC content remains at 0.3 percent or less.