I've always found it particularly odd that professional sports leagues banned cannabis as if it's some sort of performance-enhancing drug, when you probably deserve extra points for accomplishing anything athletic while high.
The pros seem to be slowly agreeing (as do state governments, with five seeing legalization measures pass on Nov. 3), as my colleague, Adweek cannabis expert T.L. Stanley, notes in a piece today:
MLB led the way, dropping cannabis from its banned-substance list in 2019, and the NFL recently amended its labor agreement to stop suspension of players who test positive for cannabis. In its experimental “bubble season,” the NBA said in June that it would no longer test players for cannabis use.
Specifically, the topic of her writeup is cannabis service Weedmaps sponsoring Mike Tyson's comeback fight this weekend. While the exhibition bout is presented (at a cost of more than $50 million) by Triller, a TikTok competitor, Weedmaps is the secondary sponsor.
That's a big deal for cannabis brands, who've slowly been moving into the hugely important sports-marketing space in recent years. Weedmaps previously sponsored X Games athletes, and CBD has been spotted in Nascar, but beyond that, we haven't seen much in the way of cannabis being welcomed into major league sports.
So while the Weedmaps sponsorship might not be one of the most talked-about aspect of this weekend's Fight of the 50-Plusers, it might end up being one of the most significant.
What will you consider the true mainstream breakout moment for cannabis brands? Let me know at the email below or at @Griner on Twitter.
David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
David.Griner@Adweek.com
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