Influence of Edible Marijuana on Endurance Exercise Performance

Lots of people, including athletes and people who like to exercise regularly, enjoy marijuana. Some people believe marijuana might improve their ability to exercise. There are no recent, up-to-date scientific studies to suggest that this belief is right or wrong. The goal of this study is to determine the influence of marijuana on exercise performance.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Endurance Exercise
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Placebo; Drug: THC 5

Detailed Description

The purpose of the proposed project is to provide athletes and the scientific community with data pertaining to the acute influence of edible marijuana on exercise performance, and the physiological responses to standardized exercise. Specifically, the investigators wish to determine: 1. The influence of edible marijuana on cardio-respiratory and metabolic responses to standardized cycle ergometer exercise. 2. The influence of edible marijuana on endurance exercise (time-trial) performance.

The investigators wish to determine if edible marijuana, ingested prior to exercise, is ergogenic (improves performance) or ergolytic (decreases performance).

The investigators hypothesize that edible marijuana will be ergolytic.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 17
• Phase: Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Colorado
    • Fort Collins, Colorado, United States, 80523-1582
      • Colorado State University, Dept. of Health and Exercise Science

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years to 40 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Between the age of 21 and 40.
• Weigh more than 110 pounds
• Habitual user of cannabis; average use of THC minimum of once per month during the previous year
• Prior use of cannabis product containing at least 10 mg of THC with no adverse reaction
• Habitual exerciser: exercised a minimum of 5 days per week, for a minimum of 30-minutes/session, during the previous year.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Identification of a contra-indication to exercise during a 12-lead exercise stress test.
• Pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Breastfeeding.
• Recipient of treatment for psychotic or bipolar disorder during the previous 2 years
• Recipient of treatment for Schizophrenia during the previous 2 years
• Planned surgery scheduled within 2-weeks of study participation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) free fruit snack gummy. One time, two gummies will be ingested prior to an exercise bout.	Drug: Placebo; Commercially available non-THC fruit snack; Other Names: Welch Fruit Snack
Active Comparator: 10 mg THC; Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) 5 milligrams (mg) in gummy form. One time, two gummies will be ingested prior to an exercise bout.	Drug: THC 5; 5 milligrams of THC in gummy form; Other Names: Ripple Blood Orange Gummies (Stillwater Brands, Commerce City, CO).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Comparison of Blood Lactate Levels During a 24 Minute Graded Standard Exercise Test (50 Watts, 100 Watts, and 150 Watts) to Placebo.	Separated by a minimum of a 4 day washout period between randomized crossover coded interventions. Blood will be collected to determine Blood Lactate Levels during standard exercise following ingestion of placebo or active formula.	Blood was collected at timepoints 0 minutes (0 watts), 8 minutes (50 watts), 16 minutes (100 watts), and 24 minutes (150 watts) for analysis of blood lactate.
Comparison of Heart Rate During a 24 Minute Graded Standard Exercise Test (50 Watts, 100 Watts, and 150 Watts) to Placebo.	Separated by a minimum of a 4 day washout period between randomized crossover coded interventions.Heart rate will be collected during standard graded exercise following ingestion of placebo or active formula (10mg THC in the form of two 5mg gummies).	Heart rate was measured at timepoints 0 minutes (0 watts), 8 minutes (50 watts), 16 minutes (100 watts) and 24 minutes (150 watts)
Comparison of Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) During a 24 Minute Graded Standard Exercise Test (50 Watts, 100 Watts, and 150 Watts) to Placebo.	Separated by a minimum of a 4 day washout period between randomized crossover coded interventions.During standard exercise, participants will be asked to report Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) on a scale from 6-20 (6 is no exertion and 20 is maximal exertion) during a graded standard exercise test following ingestion of placebo or active formula.	RPE was reported and averaged for each intensity stage at timepoints 0 minutes- 4 minutes (0 watts), 8 minutes-12 minutes (50 watts), 16 minutes-20 minutes (100 watts), and 24 minutes (150 watts).
Comparison of Indirect Calorimetry (VO2) During a 24 Minute Graded Standard Exercise Test (50 Watts, 100 Watts, and 150 Watts) to Placebo.	Separated by a minimum of a 4 day washout period between randomized crossover coded interventionsVO2 will be collected during graded standard exercise following ingestion of placebo or active formula. Expired gasses were measured and averaged during three time points, 5-8 minutes, 13-16 minutes, and 21-24 minutes. Gasses were not collected or recorded outside of those timeframes.	Expired gasses were measured and averaged during three time points, 5-8 minutes (50 Watts), 13-16 minutes (150 Watts), and 21-24 minutes (150 Watts).
Comparison of Maximal Mean Power Output to Placebo	Mean maximal power will be measured over 20 minutes following ingestion of placebo or active formula	Separated by a minimum of a 4 day washout period between randomized crossover coded interventions
Comparison of Time to Exhaustion to Placebo	Cycling until Time to Exhaustion in seconds following ingestion of placebo or active formula during high intensity exercise	Separated by a minimum of a 4 day washout period between randomized crossover coded interventions.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Christopher Bell

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Link to Published Manuscript

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 9, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 19, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): July 19, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 31, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 31, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): January 14, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 22, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 18, 2024
• Last Verified: April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Marijuana Abuse
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2827

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No