For today’s ballplayers, cannabis talk isn’t just about getting high – it’s increasingly about choosing between THC and CBD for recovery, sleep and stress. The science is still early, but themes are emerging that matter directly to MLB athletes.
THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. It binds strongly to CB1 receptors in the brain, altering perception, reaction time and short-term memory. Reviews of cannabis and performance find that THC tends to increase heart rate and can impair coordination and reaction speed – critical for hitting a 98-mph fastball or tracking a liner in the gap. A recent cycling time-trial study also reported that THC-containing cannabis worsened sustained endurance performance, suggesting it is more likely to hinder athletic output than enhance it.
Where THC may help athletes is after competition: pain relief, muscle relaxation and sleep. Observational work shows many pros already use THC for post-game soreness and winding down, though clinical data remain limited. At the same time, heavy long-term use has been linked to working-memory deficits, a concern in baseball, which relies on pitch sequencing, defensive positioning and rapid decision-making.
CBD (cannabidiol) works very differently. It does not produce a high, has low affinity for CB1 receptors, and appears to act through systems involved in inflammation, pain signaling, anxiety and sleep. Recent reviews in sports science suggest CBD shows promise as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anxiolytic and possible neuroprotective compound, although most evidence comes from preclinical studies and small human trials. Early work in physically active adults also hints that CBD can modestly reduce markers of muscle damage or perceived soreness without harming performance, though results are mixed and dosing strategies remain inconsistent across studies.
For MLB players, the policy landscape now clearly favors CBD. In 2019, MLB and the Players Association removed natural cannabinoids, including THC and CBD, from the league’s list of “drugs of abuse,” shifting marijuana-related issues into the same category as alcohol and focusing formal testing on opioids and other high-risk substances. In 2022, MLB became the first major U.S. league to approve CBD sponsorships and later announced Charlotte’s Web as its “Official CBD of Major League Baseball,” provided products are NSF Certified for Sport and contain no meaningful psychoactive levels of THC.
Practically, that means an MLB pitcher looking for help with elbow inflammation, road-trip sleep disruption or pre-game nerves is on firmer footing choosing a vetted, THC-free CBD product rather than high-THC cannabis. THC may still have a place for some veterans managing chronic pain, but it also carries more risk: possible cognitive and motor impairment on game days, variable potency between products, and off-field concerns such as driving or public intoxication.
The bottom line from the science so far: neither THC nor CBD is a magic performance enhancer, and most potential upside lies in recovery, pain and mental health rather than raw on-field output. THC looks like a double-edged sword—useful for some discomfort but capable of hurting reaction-dependent sports. CBD is emerging as the safer, league-embraced option that fits MLB’s health-first approach, provided players remember the research is still in the early innings.