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Thread: Marijuana & MMA

  1. #16
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    Diaz slinging vapes

    The YouTube vid embedding in this article clocks in at 4:20.

    Nate Diaz could get suspended for cannabidiol vaping at post-McGregor presser
    By Des Bieler August 22 at 11:33 PM


    Conor McGregor, left, and Nate Diaz inflicted plenty of damage on each other at UFC 202. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

    Nate Diaz didn’t win his epic rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 202, but he did gain the respect of his opponent, as well as a likely third date and a lucrative payday for Saturday’s effort. However, it may be some time before we see Diaz fight again — and if so, he would have no one but himself to blame, after consuming a cannabis compound at the post-fight press conference.

    [McGregor’s brilliant mind has him atop UFC again. What’s next is his call.]

    The smell of marijuana was unmistakable to reporters, as was the sight of Diaz puffing on a vape pen. He explained that it contained Cannabidiol (CBD) oil, one of 113 active cannabinoids in cannabis, and one considered by many to have therapeutic medial effects.

    “It helps with the healing process and inflammation, stuff like that,” Diaz told the media. “So you want to get these for before and after the fights, training. It’ll make your life a better place.”



    CBD does not have psychoactive effects, unlike its better known fellow cannabinoid, THC. In any event, Diaz apparently felt he was in the clear, having already given his mandatory urine sample after the fight. Marijuana use is not allowed by the UFC during the “in-competition” period, six hours before and after a match.

    The company can suspend fighters for up to a year for marijuana use, and according to MMA Fighting, it could consider Diaz’s admission, made within six hours of his UFC 202 bout, tantamount to a failed test. In addition, given that the event took place in Las Vegas, the Nevada State Athletic Commission could exert its jurisdiction and levy a punishment.

    A spokesman for USADA, which helps the UFC administer its drug-testing program, told MMA Fighting, “I can confirm that USADA is aware of the situation and is currently gathering information in order to determine the next appropriate steps.” Meanwhile, Diaz’s brother Nick, an accomplished MMA fighter in his own right, was not able to be in his corner Saturday because he is already under a marijuana-related suspension from the NSAC.

    Nick Diaz had been given a five-year ban in September 2015 for multiple positive tests for pot. After widespread outcry, that was reduced to 18 months, plus a $100,000 fine that reportedly has not been fully paid, in January.

    A few days before the fight, Nate Diaz posted what was essentially an advertisement for TRU Vape Oil pens on his Instagram account. He identified that as the product he was using at the press conference.

    natediaz209 Verified 6 days ago

    shout out to all the homies in the #NFL, the #Olympians in #Rio and all contact sports that are finding healthier ways to deal with their head trauma and wear and tear on their bodies by attacking thier injuries with CBD oil. Shout out to TRU for making it happen. #RioOlympics #truvapeoil #TRU truvapeoil.com @truoil
    McGregor also emerged from the fight in possible need of some medical assistance and looking at a potentially lengthy absence from the Octagon. After delivering a steady series of kicks to Diaz’s right leg, which was the lefty’s forward-placed plant foot, McGregor was deemed to have a possible fracture of his left foot or ankle.

    McGregor will not fight again until at least Oct. 20, and if he is not cleared by an orthopedist, he could receive a six-month medical suspension, keeping the Irishman out of action until Feb. 17. So we may see neither fighter compete until next year — or they could square off again later this year, possibly at UFC 205, the company’s highly anticipated debut event at Madison Square Garden.

    Or one of them could take on a different opponent next, with UFC president Dana White insistent that McGregor needs to defend his featherweight crown or be stripped of it. The possibility of a McGregor-Floyd Mayweather mega-fight also has not entirely disappeared. In other words, stay tuned, folks.
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  2. #17
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    Cynthia Calvillo

    I'm copying all the marijuana references out of the MMA & Drugs thread and making this new Marijuana & MMA thread, and copying it to the marijuana tcm?!?!?!?!!? thread for good measure as this topic sometimes borders on medical usage. She's Californian, where pot is now legal recreationally.

    Doping violation due to marijuana use leaves Cynthia Calvillo facing suspension
    The UFC strawweight failed an in-competition test relating to her defeat to Carla Esparza last month.
    6 hours ago 2,621 Views


    Image: Jeff Brown

    THREE WEEKS SINCE she suffered the first defeat of her career, Cynthia Calvillo has been hit with another unwelcome development.

    The 30-year-old Californian (6-1), who was beaten by Carla Esparza via unanimous decision on 30 December, failed an in-competition drug test for Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] in relation to the UFC 219 bout in Las Vegas.

    Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol is “a metabolite of marijuana and/or hashish”, according to a UFC statement. Calvillo has been flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency [USADA] for being “above the decision limit of 180 ng/mL” for the substance.

    In order to determine the sanctions that will subsequently be handed down, Calvillo will now be subjected to an adjudication process which will be carried out by both USADA and the Nevada Athletic Commission.

    The UFC’s statement on the matter reads:
    The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Cynthia Calvillo of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation involving Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (“Carboxy-THC”) which is a metabolite of marijuana and/or hashish, above the decision limit of 180 ng/mL, stemming from an in-competition sample collected in conjunction with her recent bout in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 30, 2017, UFC 219: Cyborg vs. Holm. USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Calvillo, as it relates to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and future UFC participation. Because the Nevada Athletic Commission was the regulatory body overseeing the fight in Las Vegas and has licensing jurisdiction over Calvillo, USADA will work to ensure that the Nevada Athletic Commission has the necessary information to determine its proper judgment of Calvillo’s potential anti-doping violation. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
    In April of last year, UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum was handed a three-month suspension and had his win against Vitor Belfort overturned to a ‘no contest’ after he failed a test as a result of marijuana use.
    Calvillo made her UFC debut in March 2017 and embarked on a 3-0 run with the promotion prior to her defeat to Esparza. She is currently ranked eighth in the women’s 115-pound division.
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  3. #18
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    High Rollerz

    Official website



    High Rollerz is a cannabis-infused Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament and show created by 'Big Lonn' Howard & 'Mighty Matt' Staudt. Our goal is to formally and responsibly merge the worlds of elite athletics and marijuana and work towards de-stygmatizing this amazing substance through example. We know cannabis is a powerful, natural tool that helps humans in many ways and we feel the most physically fit people in the world who regularly use it are the best examples to everyone for it.
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  4. #19
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    More on High Rollerz BJJ

    You have to be high to enter this martial arts tournament
    By Michael Kaplan December 12, 2018 | 3:29pm | Updated


    Composite: Shutterstock

    Doing jiu-jitsu is hard. Doing it while stoned on weed? It’s completely blissful, according to some pot-loving practitioners.

    In Los Angeles, where weed is legal for recreational use, fighters are drawn to jiu-jitsu tournaments in which being high is not only an option but an actual requirement.

    So much so that referees officiating the events have been known to dip in with their lighters and ignite joints for contenders needing to stay under the influence. Operating as High Rollerz BJJ — the initials stand for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — these stoned-out showdowns are put on by Matt Staudt (his eponymous PR firm caters to the cannabis industry as well as MMA) and martial arts-loving imbiber Lonn Howard.

    The point of all this is, at least in part, to dispel “antiquated cannabis stereotypes,” Los Angeles magazine reports.

    The second High Rollerz event brought in 66 competitors from around the United States, including 16 women. Michelle Lopez, who won the female’s expert division enthuses, “I love weed and I love jiu-jitsu.”

    That’s a good thing, as the prize for each division champion was a pound of pot.

    Anyone who is skeptical about fighting while stoned should indulge in a blaze session with Erik Daniel Cruz. The musician-actor and martial arts black belt tells LA Weekly that he “likes to smoke a joint to calm nerves before a big competition.” He says, “It helps you to relax and stay focused while you’re in an anxiety combat situation.”

    Still, Cruz adds, getting high before hitting the mats may not be for everyone. “When you compete so much that you don’t get nervous anymore, that’s when you can start using cannabis.”
    It would be so funny to attend one of these events. Too bad there isn't a Kung Fu angle...
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  5. #20
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    I should probably start a CBD thread.


    Aurora Cannabis to research CBD with mixed martial arts outfit UFC, Canopy names new CFO

    By Ciara Linnane
    Published: May 22, 2019 7:37 a.m. ET


    Getty Images

    Aurora Cannabis Inc. shares rose Tuesday, after the Canadian company said it has entered a multiyear, multimillion-dollar agreement with mixed martial arts organization UFC to research the effect of hemp-derived CBD products on athlete recovery and wellness.

    The companies have agreed to conduct the research at UFC’s Las Vegas institute, setting up clinical studies to evaluate CBD, a nonintoxicating ingredient in cannabis and hemp, as a treatment for pain management, inflammation, injury/exercise recovery and mental well being. Aurora shares ACB, +0.58% ACB, +0.00% rose 3%.

    CBD is widely held to have benefits for all of those indications, although there is not a great deal of research to back up the claims, as MarketWatch’s Sarah Toy reported last week. The substance is also caught in regulatory limbo ever since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which fully legalized hemp but moved regulation of CBD to the Food and Drug Administration.

    The FDA has said it would not allow companies to add CBD to food or beverages until a regulatory framework has been created. That’s because CBD is the main ingredient in the only cannabis-based drug to win FDA approval, Epidiolex, a treatment for severe childhood epilepsy developed by GW Pharma PLC.

    The FDA appears ready to allow CBD to be added to cosmetics and topicals for now, although it will not allow companies to make claims regarding their efficacy in treating serious illnesses. Last month, the regulator charged three CBD companies with violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act for putting unapproved human and pet drugs into interstate commerce and making unsubstantiated health claims about them, according to Cannabis Law Report.

    The FDA issued warning letters to Advanced Spine and Pain LLC, based in New jersey and Pennsylvania, Nutra Pure LLC, a Washington-based CBD company and Florida-based PotNetwork Holdings.

    “The FDA’s tripartite assault, coupled with its landmark FTC prosecutorial alliance, sent shock waves through both the hemp and legalized Marijuana industries,” said Cannabis Law, noting that health and wellness and food and drinks are what makes CBD attractive to consumers.

    Canopy Growth Corp. shares CGC, +3.51% WEED, +3.23% rose 2.6%, after it named Constellation Brands Inc. STZ, -0.08% executive Mike Lee as interim chief financial officer, replacing Tim Saunders, who will remain at the company as an adviser. Lee will become permanent CFO once Health Canada completes a security clearance that is required for all officers of the company. Constellation Brands invested $4 billion in Canopy last year, arming the Smiths Falls, Ontario-based company with a war chest to expand its business.

    In regulatory news, the National Cannabis Industry Association is holding a legislative briefing Wednesday on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at providing protections for banks that serve the cannabis industry in states that have legalized.

    Speakers include Colorado Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter, one of the sponsors of the bill, along with representatives of the banking industry and individual cannabis companies.

    For more on this topic, read: Push for legislation allowing banks to serve the cannabis business is gaining momentum

    Shares of 48North Cannabis Corp. NRTH, -2.56% rose 21%, after the company posted earnings for its fiscal third quarter, showing a net loss of C$1.47 million ($1.1 million) on revenue of C$689,203. The company said it has received an outdoor cultivation license from Health Canada for a 100-acre organic farm in Brant County, Ontario, that it said will be one of the biggest-ever licensed cannabis operations in the world. The company expects to have more than 45,000 kg of dried cannabis in 2019 across its three facilities.

    Tilray Inc. shares TLRY, +5.98% rose 1.1% and Aphria Inc. APHA, -0.29% APHA, -0.44% was up 5.4%. Hexo Corp. HEXO, -0.14% was up 1.0%.

    Medical cannabis retailer MedMen Enterprises Inc. shares MMNFF, -2.42% were flat. Valens GroWorks Corp. VGWCF, -1.68% was down 0.6%.

    Organigram Holdings Inc. US:OGRMF was up 4.1% on its first day of trade on the Nasdaq exchange.

    GW Pharma PLC GWPH, -0.65% was up 3.0% and Green Growth Brands Inc. GGBXF, -1.17% was down 3.9%. Curaleaf Holdings Inc. CURLF, -0.65% was down 0.7%.

    The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF HMMJ, +1.14% was up 1%, and the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ, +0.83% was up 2%.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.20% was up 0.7%, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.20% was up 0.9%.
    THREADS
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  6. #21
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    CbdMD & Bellator sent me a press release...

    ...but no samples.

    I was at our local Hallmark store yesterday because they have a postal outlet and I needed stamps. On the front door, there was a huge ad promoting their cbd products. Hallmark & cbd. How times have changed...

    Cannabis Treatments Are Finding a Home in the MMA Fighting Ring
    By Kristine Owram
    June 25, 2019, 6:43 AM PDT
    CbdMD partners with mixed martial arts organization Bellator
    Cannabidiol company also sponsors golfer Bubba Watson


    A Bellator match in St. Louis in 2016. Photographer: Scott Kane/Getty Images

    Cannabis companies are increasingly finding a good fit in mixed martial arts, the tough, anything-goes combat sport.

    CbdMD Inc., which makes topicals, tinctures and other CBD-based consumer products, is extending its reach into the cage through a partnership with Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts organization owned by Viacom Inc. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a wildly popular non-intoxicating cannabis compound that’s said by its proponents to help with pain, inflammation and exercise recovery. The U.S. legalized CBD derived from hemp last year.

    If anything, Charlotte, North Carolina-based cbdMD is late to the game. Aurora Cannabis Inc. announced last month an exclusive partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to conduct research into the relationship between CBD products and athlete health. And the issuer of the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF, the largest pot exchange-traded fund, is the official training sponsor of UFC heavyweight Alexey Oleynik.

    Read more: Cage-Fighter Sponsored by Pot ETF Issuer in Rare Marketing Move

    Bellator’s multiyear partnership with cbdMD will include category-exclusive branding inside the cage where the fighting takes place. Shares of the CBD company, which already sponsors golfer Bubba Watson, have nearly doubled since the beginning of the year.

    “We’re excited to have our company represented in the cage alongside some of the fiercest competitors on the planet,” cbdMD President Caryn Dunayer said in a statement.
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  7. #22
    I have a business with cannabinoids and a lot of people that are related to sport come to the stores to buy weed, for example on days Zlatan Ibrahimovic entered in the shop and said: hey is this Global Cannabinoids, give me some pills, I am stressed and want to chill. He is a funny man.

  8. #23
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    In about 25 years nobody will be in a tizzy over the plant anymore.

    Liquor is more harmful, but that doesn't stop people from drinking themselves stupid. lol

    Smoke em if you got em and sorry if your laws are messed up so you can't partake if you choose to do so.

    Happy to live in a country that has some dang common sense on the subject as opposed to a bunch of emotionally charged hyperbole mixed with speculation, conjecture and "cool story bro" stuff. lol
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  9. #24
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    CBD - it's time has come...

    I did start that CBD thread by copying a few posts off the Marijuana & MMA and marijuana tcm?!?!?!?!!? threads.

    How CBD Got Into The World Of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
    January 04, 2020 7:41pm



    By WeedMaps News' Adam Woodhead, provided exclusively to Benzinga Cannabis.

    Roman Mironenko's story as a professional mixed martial artist is a familiar one. After some career-high points, including a stint on the Russian reality show Mixfighter, he retired to train and teach Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) in Marseille, France. But due to the intense pain from a disc herniation from his competing days, his training was sidelined for months. He eventually found relief in a CBD oil he took sublingually twice a day. In time, he was able to return to BJJ training.

    Mironenko's story is just one of many where professional and amaeteur fighters use CBD to help recover and protect their bodies from the physical and psychological toll of mixed martial arts (MMA).

    It's a trend that MMA fighters find themselves ahead on compared to the rest of the sports world. Writing for the Telegraph, longtime fight sports journalist Gareth Davies argued that MMA athletes looking for pain management and “neuro-protective plusses” to protect against traumatic brain injuries had anticipated the CBD trend ahead of most other athletes and sports organizations.

    The trend became all the more evident when major MMA organizations began endorsing CBD wholeheartedly. In June of 2019, Bellator MMA, one of the largest MMA promotion companies, announced it had partnered with cbdMD, a CBD products brand that also sponsors professional fighters Chael Sonnen, Jorge Masvidal, and Daniel Cormier.

    A month later, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the largest and most successful MMA promotion company in the world, got into the mix when the UFC Performance Institute and publicly traded Canadian giant Aurora Cannabis announced they would be partnering up to clinically study whether CBD can treat the aches and pains of UFC fighters. The findings will be used to develop a line of hemp-derived CBD topicals.

    Leslie Smith, a veteran MMA fighter and one of the first female fighters in the UFC, told Weedmaps News she can't quite remember when she first encountered CBD.

    “Cannabis has always been such a big part of my life and my training,” Smith said. “I don't know if it's a shared love and appreciation for cannabis and healthy living that brought me to San Francisco and [Cesar Gracie] team, or if it just happened to work out that way.”

    CBD enters the UFC with the “Nate Diaz rule.”
    While Smith doesn't recall when she first encountered CBD, she does remember when CBD broke to the larger UFC public. The conversation around CBD began with a fighter who, like Smith, was part of the team at Cesar Gracie Academy: Nate Diaz.

    “I think it was when Nate Diaz vaporized CBD right after his fight at the press conference,” Smith said. “I feel like that was the time that it really meshed the use of CBD in the fighting community ... and the general public.”

    In August of 2016, following his rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 202, Diaz was seen using a vape cartridge at the post-fight Press Conference. Dosing with CBD after a fight or sparring session is something that Smith practiced as well, using a 5,000-milligram full-spectrum tincture from Alpha Cannax.

    “I definitely take it after any sparring session. Any time that I'm sparring and my head is getting hit,” she said. “I take it immediately after the practice, and then I take it again at night time. Basically, for as long as I'm feeling fuzzy.”



    At the time, however, all cannabinoids, including CBD, were banned during competition and the incident was flagged by the media as a potential doping violation. Debate about whether Diaz had violated a rule ensued. This resulted in the creation of the so-called “Nate Diaz Rule” in 2018, under which CBD is allowed during competition even if other cannabinoids are not.

    At open workouts before his match up with Anthony Pettis at UFC 241, Diaz found himself the subject of media scrutiny once again when he lit a joint and passed it to fans in the crowd. Diaz claimed it was CBD flower, but either way, the use of cannabinoids was well outside the bounds of the in-competition period.

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    MMA fighters are still cautious about using CBD
    While CBD is gaining in popularity among fighter athletes, they are still cautious about how and when they use it when training and recovering. CBD's emergence has come at a time when concern over tainted supplements, false positives, retroactive sanctions, and potentially canceled events is at an all-time high.

    The Diaz brothers' regular conflict with, and sanctions from, officials have been noted by their fellow athletes. In the run-up to a recent bout in Oklahoma, Smith switched her CBD supplement as a precaution.

    “The commission there in Thackerville does not allow you to have any metabolites in your system at all,” she said. “Even the small amount that would show up inside of the [Alpha Cannax] full-spectrum CBD would have cost me some money and gotten me some bad publicity. So I was taking Game Up Nutrition as I was getting ready for that fight.”

    The fear of testing positive for THC from taking a CBD product is a sentiment echoed to Weedmaps News by John Kelly, the head coach and owner of Live Free Crossfit, and the fighter he trains, UFC heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

    “These guys work really hard,” Kelly said. “If for some reason they get popped for THC when they were trying to take a supplement, then it's going to destroy everything that they worked towards.”

    Finding trust in a CBD product that will both work and not cause a fighter to run afoul of the rules is paramount to fighters interested in using CBD. After some research, Kelly opted for Cannafornia CBD for Rozenstruik's training. “I looked into the company pretty deeply and I saw all the third party testing, and I saw that there were very low levels of THC,” Kelly said. “So that was one of the deciding factors that made us go with [Cannafornia], was how clean the product was.”

    Rozenstruik is also one of the top tier UFC athletes sponsored by Cannafornia CBD. Others have included Derrick Lewis and — until a falling out in December — Colby Covington, who Cannafornia CEO Paul King told Weedmaps News was the first fighter he decided to work with after the pair met in Miami. King said that Kelly works as the strength and conditioning coach for three of six fighters sponsored by the company.

    Rozenstruik uses CBD as a topical rub before and after training, and orally before bed. His dosage is approximately 33 milligrams, which is doubled after intense training sessions.

    “It helps, especially when you do strength training and your body gets sore,” Rozenstruik said. “I use the cream on my body and it really helps me recover really fast."

    One of the most productive ways to use CBD is as a way to find balance in a fighter's training, according to Kelly. Using CBD to find the range between not being overtrained or undertrained is what allows athletes to optimally perform on fight night.

    “It's all about homeostasis,” Kelly said.

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  10. #25
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    Love Hemp signs transformative 5 year partnership deal with UFC

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  11. #26
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    RIP Elias Theodorou

    Elias Theodorou, Pioneer of Medical Marijuana in Sports, Dies at 34
    A Canadian mixed martial artist, he brought cerebral flair to the ring and a dogged determination to his campaign for changing the sport’s drug rules.


    Elias Theodorou, right, in 2018 in a middleweight mixed martial arts bout with Eryk Anders of the United States in Toronto. He was already a widely admired sports figure when he took up the cause of medical marijuana.Credit...Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

    By Clay Risen
    Published Oct. 2, 2022
    Updated Oct. 3, 2022, 4:12 a.m. ET

    Elias Theodorou, a cerebral, charismatic mixed martial arts fighter who campaigned to change his sport’s drug rules and is widely believed to be the first professional athlete to receive a therapeutic exemption to use marijuana, died on Sept. 11 at his home in Woodbridge, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. He was 34.

    His brother, Michael, said the cause was colon cancer that had metastasized to his liver.

    Countless pro athletes are said to use marijuana — for pain, for anxiety, to focus — but most sports prohibit or heavily regulate its use. In 2019 the PGA suspended the golfer Matt Every for three months after he tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and in 2021 the American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was effectively disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics after THC was found in her bloodstream.

    Theodorou, who suffered from bilateral neuropathy, which caused tingling pain in his hands and arms, didn’t want to be next. Known for his thoughtful, deliberative fighting style, he applied that same approach to his campaign to win permission to use marijuana during training and preparation for a fight.

    He built his case meticulously, collecting research and statements from doctors and lawyers and documenting his own fruitless efforts to find an already permitted alternative, like opioids.

    “What I’m trying to strive for is an even playing field,” he told Forbes in 2021. “Anyone with the same kind of injury would be able to take a handful of Vicodin to go and fight and it wouldn’t be an issue.”

    Drug rules for sports like mixed martial arts are largely set at the state and provincial level, so he had to tailor his pitch over and over to address different regulations. He won approval from the British Columbia Athletic Commission in 2020, and a year later from a similar body in Colorado. He fought in both jurisdictions, and was planning to seek further exemptions when he was diagnosed with cancer in January.

    According to his lawyer, Eric Magraken, he was the first professional athlete in North America to receive such an exemption, and very likely the first in the world.

    Theodorou was already a widely admired sports figure when he took up the cause of medical marijuana.

    He exploded onto the mixed martial arts scene in 2011, going undefeated for his first four years and signing a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the sport’s premier promotion company, in 2014.

    His fighting style was slow, grinding, even a bit boring. But fans loved him for the charisma and humility he brought to a sport often stereotyped as violent and humorless.

    “His personality just stood out, and he brought that into the fight,” Sarah Kaufman, a retired mixed martial arts fighter, said in a phone interview. “He would just be really smart. He was strategic and thoughtful.”

    He made much of his long hair, which he wore in cornrows during fights but otherwise let flow down his shoulders. He called himself “the Mane Event,” ran a Twitter account dedicated to his locks and signed a sponsorship deal with Pert Plus, the shampoo brand.

    As a model and actor, Theodorou appeared on the cover of 11 Harlequin romance novels (he joked that he was “your mom’s favorite romance cover and your son’s favorite fighter”), had small roles on Canadian television shows like “The Listener” and “Played,” and was a contestant on the Canadian version of “The Greatest Race.”

    He also crossed boundaries. He spoke openly about his struggles with dyslexia. In place of the usual scantily clad ring girl who holds a sign announcing the next round in a match, he did the same by moonlighting as a “ring boy” at several events held by Invicta, an all-female mixed martial arts circuit.

    “It was a beautiful subversion of this archaic institution,” Geoff Girvitz, owner of Bang Personal Training in Toronto, where Theodorou often worked out, said in a phone interview.

    A true happy warrior, Theodorou mixed with fans, palled around with other fighters and generally seemed in gleeful awe of his own success.
    “It’s the coolest thing,” he told The Province, a newspaper in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2014. “Me being me and people wanting to see that is cool. I’m just rolling with the punches — metaphorically speaking and literally inside the cage, too.”

    Theodorou during a weigh-in before a fight in 2018. Losing a sidewalk fight as a freshman in college that was captured on video inspired him to take up mixed martial arts.Credit...Tom Szczerbowski/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

    Elias Michael Theodorou was born on May 31, 1988, in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, to Gary Theodorou, a computer engineer for Ricoh, the camera manufacturer, and Mimi (Bouloukou) Theodorou, a vice president of operations for Bank of America. His parents and his brother survive him.

    Unlike most mixed martial artists, Elias didn’t grow up fighting; instead, he skateboarded. It was only in his first year at Humber College, in Toronto, that he took up the sport — and then only after a video of him losing a sidewalk fight went viral, and he started looking for a way to defend himself.

    “I’ve said this before, if I ever saw the guy I fought with, even though he sucker-punched me, I’d buy him dinner,” he told The Ottawa Sun in 2019. “It was a catalyst to a healthy career.”

    He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in creative advertising in 2010 and fought his first professional match the next year.

    Without a background in any particular discipline, Theodorou developed a unique style, one that even two of his coaches called “awkwardly effective,” blending techniques from martial arts like Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai as well as wrestling and boxing.

    “He was coming into mixed martial arts as a blank slate,” Chad Pearson, his wrestling coach, said in an interview, “and getting pieces from wrestling, getting pieces from jujitsu, getting pieces from striking, and he was literally creating his own set of techniques.”

    At 6-foot-1 and about 185 pounds, Theodorou competed as a middleweight, with the nickname the Spartan. He appeared on “The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia,” a reality TV competition, in 2013, a year before he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

    Theodorou went 8-3 during his five years in the U.F.C., and 19-3 for his career. But over time it became apparent that his measured style was not the right fit for a circuit that emphasized pyrotechnic aggression. After a loss to the American fighter Derek Brunson in 2019, the U.F.C. released him from his contract.

    It was a lesson, and a mixed blessing. Theodorou developed a more aggressive style and went undefeated the rest of his career. But the U.F.C. can be all-consuming, and without it he had the freedom to pursue other interests, including his acting and his medical-marijuana advocacy — and, he said, to plan for a time when he would no longer be stepping into the ring.

    “No one wants to get hit in the head forever,” he told The Chronicle Herald of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2016, “and I still want to find a life after fighting.”
    Clay Risen is an obituaries reporter for The Times. Previously, he was a senior editor on the Politics desk and a deputy op-ed editor on the Opinion desk. He is the author, most recently, of “Bourbon: The Story of Kentucky Whiskey.” @risenc

    A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 3, 2022, Section A, Page 21 of the New York edition with the headline: Elias Theodorou, 34, a Pioneer Of Medical Marijuana in Sports.
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