Marijuana gets high marks when it comes to exercise

Employers weighing the pros and cons of workplace drug policies just received a nudge in the area of workforce health: 80% of marijuana users exercise.

Studying the fitness of users in states where cannabis is legal, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, found that most partake in the drug shortly before or after exercise, and most report that it motivates them to work out, helps them enjoy exercise more and improves their recovery, according to a paper published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

The study is among the first to explore the complicated intersection between cannabis use and physical activity, according to an article on the university’s news website.

“There is a stereotype that cannabis use leads people to be lazy and couch-locked and not physically active, but these data suggest that this is not the case,” senior author Angela Bryan, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute for Cognitive Science, told a reporter.

She, however, stressed that she is in no way recommending using cannabis as an adjunct to exercise.