Tanner Hall at the Winter X Games via Powder.com

Cannabis smokers come from all walks of life. High caliber lawyers, programmers and athletes smoke weed to calm their mind and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Most individuals choose to keep their habits discreet, as marijuana is usually not tolerated by businesses and other professional environments.

In the case of athletes, the World Anti-doping Agency strictly prohibits cannabis use during competition. Getting busted by the organization may get you disqualified under the following criteria: performance enhancing, illegal usage and health risks. However, in the past few years and in the spirit of legalization, more and more athletes are signing sponsorship agreements with cannabis brands. Read on to find how such collaborations are changing the landscape of the sporting community.

Tanner Hall and the “Chron”

Tanner Hall discusses his upcoming cannabis product line via GrindTV

Tanner Hall is considered to be a legend in freestyle skiing. His jaw-dropping credentials include seven X Games gold medals and four silver awards. Hall is also a cannabis enthusiast and is currently engaged in a partnership with Black Rock Originals, a Denver-based marijuana products brand. During a recent collaboration, the two launched the Skiboss Collection- an assortment of cannabis travel accessories, ranging from rolling papers to a card grinder for breaking down big nuggets.

During an interview with The New Yorker, Hall admitted that he was high on the “chron” (his personal term for cannabis or chronic) when he won all of his X Games medals. “If you’ve ever skied on a powder day, you know you’re gonna stop in the trees at least two or three times a day to smoke a joint because of how good the snow is and how good a day it is. It brings you and your friends together,” explained Hall.

Supporting Cannabis Use in Sports

In addition to Hall, other athletes, such as UFC’s Nick Diaz and the NFL’s Ricky Williams, have also shown their support for cannabis in high-level sports. According to a 2013 study, over 75 percent of NFL prospects smoked weed in college. Many sporting organizations can’t deny the prevailing presence of cannabis, and the effect that legalization is having on the industry. Avery Collins, an ultramarathoner, is also an advocate for cannabis. He is sponsored by Roll-Uh-Bowl and a Colorado edibles company.

With that in mind, should regulatory institutions ease their grip on marijuana use? The answer could be yes. With cannabis businesses acting as advocates to erase the stigma that marijuana has on performance and lifestyle, it is likely that some groups may eventually come around to allowing some forms of cannabis (such as edibles or oils) during training.

“A lot of athletes use a lot of marijuana for good reason,” said Hall. “I think you’d be surprised how many do it, at a high level. In snow sports, it’s kind of a given that you’ll see a lot of smokers out there; it’s been ingrained in the mountain culture for quite a while. People don’t look down on it as much.”