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GIVING A DAM

A run-in with police over cannabis possession forced professional wrestler Rob Van Dam to give up two world titles. Now, after years of advocacy, he offers a sobering perspective by using his passion for CBD to help athletes with brain injuries.

Words by Gordon Stribling

In 2006, wrestling icon Rob Van Dam hit a career high, becoming WWE and ECW champion. But it would all come crashing down months later when he was busted for possession of cannabis, forcing him to forfeit both titles.

“Originally I tried it because of peer pressure,” he said in a recent interview with The CANNAVIST. "I was wrestling in Jamaica on my 21st birthday and I noticed that a lot of my bodybuilder role models liked marijuana.” But while America’s wave of state legalisation introduced many consumers to recreational cannabis via the medical route, Rob’s journey took the opposite trajectory, as the bumps and bruises began to take their toll. As a pro-wrestler, Rob says, you just have to wrap yourself up and keep going. “In the early years, the guys who smoked seemed to be the same people who did shrooms or whatever “But maybe they were using it under the radar for pain as an alternative to opiates.” After advocating for medical cannabis for many years, Rob began to see the medical community becoming more receptive to it. His ex-wife had stage three colon cancer and, during a nutritional meeting, another patient if there was a way to stimulate appetite.

“I said what about medical cannabis? And she said, ‘you know, I’m not allowed to bring it up. But since you brought it up, I can talk about it.’ “I just thought, what a ridiculous policy to not be allowed to save these people from suffering even

though it was legal in the state?” Rob recently starred in an Amazon Prime documentary called Headstrong, which follows his attempt to shake off a lingering concussion as he traverses across the US on a stand-up comedy tour. During filming, he faced the very real prospect that the years spent in the ring had possibly caused Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) – a degenerative brain disease resulting from repeat brain trauma. Thankfully, despite experiencing more than 500 concussions over his career, a brain scan revealed no sign of CTE. Rob knows he is one of the lucky ones, adding that many of his friends have tragically ended their own lives.

“It’s pretty common in wrestling. Statistically, wrestlers don’t live that long. It usually seems to be derived from depression that they get as a result from having a lot of concussions.” These experiences inspired Rob’s 'RVD CBD' range. The end-goal is a direct formula for athletes. Rob has been inspired by research showing the potential for Cannabigerol (CBG) to regenerate brain tissue. He’s also read that the NFL may soon develop a neuroprotective pre-game pill.

“Why not pick the best components from all the things I’m reading about, have some scientists put a product together and try it for myself? I think it could help a lot of people. “I don’t have any signs of CTE but I don’t know that it won’t come later in life.”