The WNBA Just Removed Cannabis From Its Banned List. The Science Explains Why.
The WNBA joins the NBA, NFL, and NCAA in recognizing cannabis doesn't belong on a banned substances list. Here's the full story — and the ECS science behind why athletes have been right about this all along.
June 6, 2026
For decades, professional athletes have operated under a simple and unforgiving rule: cannabis means consequences.
Fines. Suspensions. Public shaming. Careers derailed.
That era is ending — and this week, the WNBA made it official.
On June 4, 2026, the Women's National Basketball Association confirmed that marijuana has been formally removed from its list of prohibited substances, as part of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement ratified on May 22 by the WNBA and the Women's National Basketball Players' Association. The league joins the NBA (2023), the NCAA Division I (2024), the NFL (2024), and UFC (2023) in walking back decades of punitive cannabis policy.
It's a cultural earthquake. And it's one the science had been predicting for a long time.
What the WNBA Actually Changed
Under the old CBA, cannabis was listed under "Drugs of Abuse" — the same category as cocaine and heroin. First offenses triggered mandatory treatment referrals. Repeated violations meant fines and suspensions. WNBA policy was significantly harsher on cannabis than the NBA's, even as the broader cultural and legal landscape shifted dramatically around it.
The new agreement removes marijuana from that prohibited list entirely. Players will no longer be tested for cannabis as a standard matter.
There are still conditions: testing can occur if a player enters the league's Drugs of Abuse Program, if she is found to be under the influence during team or league activities, or if there's evidence of dependency. But the default assumption has flipped. Cannabis is no longer treated as a threat to the game.
The new policy also opens the door for players to invest in and endorse hemp-derived CBD companies — a recognition that cannabinoids have become a legitimate, mainstream category in athlete wellness.
Why This Moment Matters
Brittney Griner was detained in Russia in 2022 for carrying cannabis oil. She spent nearly a year in a Russian penal colony. When she returned, she became one of the most visible symbols of how absurdly out of proportion cannabis penalties had become — even as the U.S. was rapidly legalizing the very same substance state by state.
Sha'Carri Richardson was barred from the 2021 Olympics after testing positive for THC — a substance that provides no performance advantage in sprinting — just days after the death of her mother. The world watched. And the world decided that was wrong.
The WNBA's decision is a direct line drawn from those moments to now. It says: we were wrong, and athletes deserve better.
The League-by-League Shift
The WNBA isn't alone. What's happening is a systematic policy reset across organized sport:
NBA (2023): Removed cannabis from the banned substances list. Players can invest in and promote cannabis companies.
NCAA Division I (2024): Voted to remove marijuana from its banned substances list, aligning with WADA's updated thresholds.
NFL (2024): Significantly reduced fines for positive cannabis tests, raised the allowable THC threshold, and partnered on clinical trials using CBD for pain management and concussion recovery.
UFC (2023): Formally removed cannabis from its modified banned substances list.
Nevada Boxing and MMA (2024): Regulators adopted rules protecting fighters from penalties for cannabis use compliant with state law.
And most significantly at the federal level: on April 23, 2026, the Department of Justice moved state-licensed medical cannabis and FDA-approved cannabinoid products to Schedule III — the first reclassification of cannabis in over five decades. The scheduling that once justified banning cannabis in sport is itself being dismantled.
The momentum is undeniable. And it isn't driven by politics. It's driven by science.
The Endocannabinoid System: What Everyone Was Missing
Here's what the "cannabis is a performance enhancer" camp never fully reckoned with.
Your body already makes cannabinoids. Right now, inside your brain and muscles and bloodstream, your endocannabinoid system (ECS) is running. It was discovered in the early 1990s, and in the three decades since, researchers have established it as one of the body's primary regulators of mood, pain, inflammation, sleep, and — critically — exercise response.
When you run far enough, lift hard enough, row long enough, something shifts. You feel it. Euphoria. A sense of ease. Pain that was there isn't anymore. Focus that arrives unbidden. That's not a placebo. That's anandamide binding to CB1 receptors in your brain — a cannabinoid your own body produces, structurally similar to THC, named after the Sanskrit word for bliss.
The Runner's High isn't about endorphins. That theory was never proven. What was proven — in a 2021 human trial study — is that the endocannabinoid system is a primary regulator of mood, pain, and recovery during exercise. The ECS is why some athletes find flow states and others don't. It's why some people get addicted to training while others find it impossible to start.
Cannabis — specifically low-dose, precision-formulated cannabinoids like THC, CBD, and CBG — interacts with this system. Not by overwhelming it. By amplifying what your body is already trying to do.
This is the science that sports organizations have been slow to catch up to. The WNBA, finally, is catching up.
What the Research Actually Says About Cannabis and Athletic Performance
The question isn't "can athletes use cannabis and still be great athletes?"
The obvious answer to that is yes. The question the science is pursuing is more interesting: does intentional, low-dose cannabinoid use support athletic performance, recovery, and long-term health?
Early evidence is pointing toward yes, with important caveats.
A 2015 review published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Science noted that cannabis users tend to exercise more than non-users, and that participants reported greater motivation, enjoyment, and perceived focus during exercise when they used cannabis before or during training. These aren't fringe findings — they were conducted by the University of Colorado Boulder, one of the first major research institutions to study cannabis and exercise in a state where it was legal.
The ECS regulates:
- Anandamide release during sustained cardiovascular exercise (the mechanism of the Runner's High)
- CB2 receptor activity in muscle tissue, which modulates inflammation and promotes recovery
- Vasodilation, improving oxygen delivery during endurance activity
- Pain modulation along the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system
- Gut motility and nutrient absorption, critical for endurance athletes
Low-dose exogenous cannabinoids — hemp-derived THC, CBD, and CBG — can interact with this system in ways that complement training rather than compromise it. The key word is low-dose. These are not recreational doses designed to get you stoned. These are precision-formulated inputs designed to support what the ECS is already doing.
This is why the science and the policy are converging. Cannabis isn't a performance drug in the traditional sense. It's an ECS modulator — and the ECS is central to how athletes actually perform.
Recovery: The Underrated Athlete Edge
One of the most consistent findings in cannabis and athlete wellness research is around recovery.
CBD and CBG have demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties in multiple studies. Inflammation is the limiting factor in how quickly athletes can train again. High-volume weeks, hard tempo efforts, heavy strength sessions — they all create inflammation. Managing it faster means training more, adapting quicker, and staying injury-free longer.
CBG (cannabigerol), which is present in OFFFIELD's High Performance Energy Gummies at 10mg per serving, is non-psychoactive and has been studied specifically for its role in reducing anxiety and inflammation. A 2021 study on CBG found it reduced anxiety and improved memory outcomes — two factors relevant to both pre-training readiness and post-training recovery.
The athlete who recovers fastest wins. It's not just a cliché.
What This Means if You're an Athlete Right Now
The WNBA's decision isn't just symbolic. It's a signal about where science and culture are landing.
Cannabis isn't cheating. It's not dangerous. And for athletes who use it responsibly and with intention, it may be one of the most underutilized tools in the training toolkit.
That's been OFFFIELD's position since day one.
We built our High Performance Energy Gummies around a single insight: the endocannabinoid system is the most important performance system most athletes have never optimized. Our formula — 3mg THC, 10mg CBG, 40mg CBD, 10mg natural caffeine from yerba mate — was designed not to get you stoned, but to help your body do what it was built to do during exercise.
Run High, Not Stoned.
That's always been the principle. And now, thanks to the WNBA, the NBA, the NFL, the NCAA, and the DOJ, the world is catching up to what the science has known for years.
The Stigma Was Always the Problem
Here's the honest truth about why this policy shift took this long.
It wasn't science. The science was there. The World Anti-Doping Agency had cannabis on the banned list because it believed cannabis could "enhance performance" — a position its own researchers could never substantiate. The bans were built on stigma, not evidence. They were the institutional legacy of decades of propaganda that cannabis was a gateway drug and a moral failing.
Athletes paid the price. Sha'Carri Richardson paid the price. Brittney Griner paid the price — in ways most of us will never understand.
At OFFFIELD, we don't just make products. We're part of a movement that believes in a simpler idea: an open mind and an active life are a better prescription than stigma. Cannabinoids are tools — plant-derived, precision-dosed, scientifically grounded. They deserve to be treated with the same rigor and respect as any other performance input.
The WNBA agreeing is a good day.
Movement Made Happy
Explore the science behind OFFFIELD's formula, or read about what the Runner's High actually is — and why endorphins were never the whole story.
And if you're ready to experience what a precision-dosed ECS formula feels like on your next run, lift, or ride: