Scientists want to pay people to exercise while stoned for an upcoming study
- Researchers at University Colorado Boulder are recruiting people who like to run while stoned for a study.
- Recruits who complete the three-part study can earn up to $100, say the researchers.
You can now get paid to defy the "lazy stoner" stereotype.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder are currently recruiting men and women who regularly exercise while high on cannabis to study the potential benefits of the practice. People who apply must live in the Boulder, Colorado area and be familiar with mixing cannabis and running workouts. Men who apply must be between 21 and 40, and women must be between 21 and 50.
The researchers will pay up to $100 to each recruit who completes the study, a callout on the university's website says.
An April 2021 meta-analysis found cannabis users tend to work out more than their cannabis-free counterparts. Anecdotal reports from so-called "stonercisers" and boutique fitness classes dedicated to getting high and sweating it out suggest the substance can offer a workout boost, Insider previously reported.
Now, researchers at UC Boulder want to study this phenomenon with their SPACE, or Study on Physical Activity and Cannabis Effects, project.
To participate, you'll have to run on a treadmill while stoned
People interested in participating in the study can email or call the research team to sign up.
If researchers pick you to participate, you can expect three sets of treadmill workouts (two while sober and one while stoned), surveys, and blood work.
The researchers said you'll take a health survey and then complete a "brief" treadmill run on your first visit to their lab. In two other meetings, participants will take follow-up surveys and run for 30 minutes on the treadmill.
Some research and self-reports suggest cannabis can boost your workout
Cannabis can quiet parts of our brains that feed the ego, resulting in a go-with-the-flow mentality that makes working out less stressful, Dr. Jordan Tishler, an internal medicine physician and the president of the Association of Cannabis Specialists, previously told Insider.
When a person consumes cannabis, it "gently stimulates" brain receptors in charge of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps you feel happy, Tishler said.