Table 4 Summary of the effect of THC on performance
From: The effects of caffeine, nicotine, ethanol, and tetrahydrocannabinol on exercise performance
TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
WADA status: the International Olympic Committee included cannabis in the banned substance list beginning in 1989 and since 2004 the World Anti-Doping Agency has prohibited its use for all sports competition [[163]] | |||
Acute effect | Effect on performance | THC dose | Reference |
Resting heart rate and both systolic/diastolic blood pressure were significantly elevated at rest | Physical work capacity at a heart rate of 170 decreased by 25% compared to placebo | 18.2 mg of Δ9-THC | Steadward and Singh [154] |
Induced tachycardia at rest | VE, VO2 and VCO2 were increased above control at ≥50% max effort; Small, but significant reduction in maximal exercise duration; tachycardia up to 80% of maximum effort and during recovery | 7 mg/kg marijuana (containing 1.7% Δ9-THC) | Renaud and Cormier [155] |
Increased heart rate and the rate-pressure product at rest | No effect on blood pressure, ventilation or oxygen uptake during submaximal exercise (15 min at 50% of VO2max); increased heart rate and the rate-pressure product during recovery | Smoking 7.5 mg of Δ9-THC | Avakian et al. [156] |