Now that Canada and many US states have legalized cannabis, dozens of our professional sports teams now live in jurisdictions where recreational cannabis use is legal. Some would argue that since cannabis can make it difficult to focus and reduce coordination, it would hinder athletes’ performance rather than enhance it. However, not every cannabis user experiences those effects to the same degree, and cannabis can also reduce anxiety, which can be useful in high-pressure environments. Rather than using cannabis to boost performance during an event, though, most 420-friendly athletes use it during recovery.

How Cannabis Speeds Recovery

To compete in any sport at the highest levels, athletes need to push their bodies extremely hard. Injuries – minor ones, at the very least – are almost inevitable. Cannabis is a powerful anti-inflammatory, which means it can help with common injuries like over-strained muscles and sprained ankles. It also reduces the duration of post-workout muscle soreness, which could help athletes spend more time training productively and less time recovering.

For athletes who need to maintain a certain calorie intake but struggle to eat enough, cannabis can help by stimulating their appetites. Athletes may also use cannabis for better sleep. Interestingly, studies have shown that male athletes are more likely to use cannabis than female athletes, and there is a strong positive correlation between number of training hours and frequency of cannabis use.

It’s also important to note that a majority of cannabis use among athletes may be completely unrelated to their performance. One study found that recreational use was eight times more prevalent among athletes than use for performance-enhancing purposes.

Which Sports Allow Cannabis Use?

Unfortunately, just because cannabis is legal in an athlete’s state or province doesn’t mean they can use cannabis without repercussions. Beyond actual laws, sport bodies also have their own rules that govern athletes’ behavior. The World Anti-Doping Agency currently includes cannabis on its Prohibited List, as it considers cannabis to be a performance-enhancing drug. Specific sports’ rules are:

• Lacrosse: cannabis use is prohibited.
• Football: the CFL’s drug-testing policy has never included cannabis.
• Hockey: cannabis use is allowed by the NHL, and testing positive for cannabis during one of the random drug tests is not grounds for fines or suspensions.
• NBA: the NBA forbids cannabis use… officially. However, tests are infrequent and it is speculated that up to 80% of NBA players use cannabis anyway.
• NFL: like the NBA, the NFL forbids cannabis use, but doesn’t test frequently.
• MLB: in Major League Baseball, drug tests are only conducted if there is probably cause. For this reason, players almost never incur penalties for cannabis use, and use is probably much more common than is reported.

Based on the relaxed “anti-weed” policies held by many of these sport bodies and the correlation between time spent training and frequency of cannabis use by athletes, it seems like both athletes and regulators are arriving at the same conclusion: that cannabis may be a useful recovery supplement, but should not be classified as a performance-enhancing drug. Over time, cannabis use bans will probably relax or dissolve.

byphineasgray

If you’re considering getting into the t-shirt business, you should become familiar with the different methods available for transferring text, logos, and images to a garment such as a t-shirt.

The two major methods used to transfer an image to a garment are heat transfers, and screen printed transfers.

Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages.

Heat Transfers

The process of heat transfer is much simpler than a screen printed transfer, but the image is not as permanent.

The artwork is printed on a special heat transfer paper. There are different qualities of paper depending on whether it’s intended for personal or professional use. Some consumer level printers are also available which can make higher quality heat transfers.

Once the image is printed on the transfer paper, the paper is pressed onto the garment and then heated for a short time. This melts a material in the paper called plastisol which seeps into the shirt. The back of the paper is then peeled from the shirt while the plastisol and the image remain on the garment.

Screen Printed Transfers

At a professional level, screen printed transfers are the most common. As far as print quality goes, this method of transferring an image to a garment is generally better. A screen print will usually last longer, and maintain higher levels of color saturation than a heat transfer.

A screen transfer is more difficult to do, however, and will require the use of more professional equipment to get a high-quality and long lasting image.

A screen print requires that you use a few different tools. First of all, you’ll need a screen. The screen is a wooden or steel frame with a special mesh material. It is pressed against the garment to transfer the ink. These screens must be cleaned after they are used, and they are quite large. If you plan on screen printing professionally, you should have a designated booth and garden hose with which to clean the screen, as well as an area to dry it.

The artwork is printed on special sheets that activate when exposed to UV light. These sheets are printed directly onto the screen mentioned earlier. This is similar to how photographs in non-digital cameras are exposed. Of course, you will either need self-contained exposure equipment for this, a darkroom or sunlight.

The screen that was mentioned earlier has a special chemical coating on it. This coating is then sprayed with a pressure hose. The chemical will eventually come off of the non-transparent portions of the image.

The screen is then pressed against the garment, and ink is applied to the sheet. The ink is then scrubbed across the screen. The ink will seep into the parts of the screen where the chemical was removed, which ultimately transfers the image to the shirt.

If multiple colors are used in the image or logo, this process will have to be repeated for the various colors.