Ross Rebagliati is a Canadian professional snowboarder and Olympic gold medalist. After winning the giant slalom event at the 1998 Nagano games, he was found to have THC in his blood and was automatically disqualified. The controversial decision was later overturned as THC was not actually on the list of banned substances, and Ross was given back the gold medal. But why strip the medal from any Olympian for testing positive to a substance that wasn’t actually banned? It was out of this frustration that Ross began to fight back – becoming an activist, businessman, and spokesperson for cannabis. We sat down to talk with Ross about how you can incorporate cannabis into your life in a healthy way.
What is your preferred consumption method?
I prefer edibles for the morning and the evening if I have a busy day. Concentrate vaporizers are also convenient for certain situations.
Many perceive cannabis as a lazy drug, how do you manage to stay so active and motivated while consuming?
The perception that cannabis is a lazy drug is nothing more than that. Each person has a choice in life to be productive or not. Sure an inexperienced user could inadvertently get they’re hands on some heavy indica and end up in a couch lock situation, but that’s not how educated cannabis users operate. For me, cannabis unlocks the potential within everyday. Whether its with my family or pulling extra hours at work, cannabis helps me appreciate every moment for what its worth. Personally, cannabis also has an uncanny quality of bringing priorities to the surface, helping me better manage my day, week, month, year and life in general.
Can you tell me specifically about your cannabis regimen as it pertains to athletics?
With regard to athletics, my cannabis consumption regime isn’t much different then another day. I always wake up around 5 or 6 am and have coffee with medicated honey as sweetener. If I’m going to the gym (like most days at 6am), I’ll use my RossGold vape pen with wax or shatter in the parking lot right before I go in to increase motivation and focus. Typically, I’ll have 3 or 4 puffs. This dose would vary depending on ones individual tolerance. Depending on the activity, I would also use cannabis as a recovery tool. For example, after a 60 mile bike ride, I would use a high CBD strain of flower or extract to conquer achy, inflamed muscles. If I actually incur an open wound i.e. a cut or road rash, then I use a sativa with lots of THC to manage that kind of pain. Mixing two of these strains together in a jointor vaporizer can be effective in treating both kinds of pain at the same time. Hybrids are now becoming standard with sativa and indica bred together with varying ratios of THC to CBD. When I need to get to bed early and recover from a crazy day, I will eat 2-4 medicated chocolates (2 doses per chocolate), which aid with sleep. I will have 2 chocolates at night on a normal day and increase the dose depending on my physical output and stress level that day. Getting the required sleep each night is perhaps the most important aspect of being healthy. Muscles grow and recover best during deep sleep.
What’s in your snowboarding stash? How do you carry it?
Over the years my snowboard stash has changed with the times. It would normally be 3 or 4 joints for the day, totaling 3-4 grams. I like to pre-roll if possible. These days it’ll be using edibles in the morning to combat sore muscles from the day before and then using high-THC activity-ready sativa strains during the day for focus, awareness, and alertness. Our RossGold vape pens are great in a blizzard as they can be operated with gloves on in gale force winds. In the old days, I would use a film container. Kids these days wouldn’t even know what I’m talking about…(laughs).
Do you think that the stigma of cannabis users has changed as of recent?
The stigma surrounding cannabis use has changed for the better. The continued research and scientific evidence is changing the way open minded individuals perceive cannabis use. People now realize the ideological thinking of the past that kept cannabis illegal was a mistake. The benefits of cannabis are far reaching and have yet to be fully explored. Having said that, the safety (lack of toxicity and side-effects) of cannabis makes its mainstream recreational acceptance stellar when compared to other legal, recreational products like alcohol and tobacco.
What else do you recommend people to do help refine the perception of cannabis?
Practice sensible ‘sensi’ etiquette, but also, many businesses could provide appropriate smoking areas. This would get puffers off the chairlift and into a designated public consumption area. Spaces where people can get together and be social – ski resorts, golf courses, hotels, tour groups, etc. need to include this marketing adjustment into their future business plans; providing areas and/or entire venues that are cannabis friendly. The financial upside would be enormous. This sort of action would really be forward thinking and help normalize cannabis use. Get it out of the shadows and be proud, just in a respectful way!
Table of contents
Table of Contents