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 the
plant to help athletes with brain injuries.
Words by Gordon Stribling
As a former WWE and ECW wrestling champion, it goes without
saying that Rob Van Dam is a hard man to pin down. While still
active in the sport, it’s now just one of many activities fi ghting for
space in his packed schedule.
“I’ve been very busy lately. Just this past weekend, I was fi lming
an action movie in Buffalo called One Day at a Time, in between
wrestling in Puerto Rico. I’m a bad guy and my whole gang got
killed off, but we’ve got to do one more day over the next several
weeks to kill off my character.”
Of course, we’re here to talk about CBD, or more broadly
cannabis, which ‘RVD’ will forever be associated with – for better
and for worse.
In 2006, Rob hit a career high, becoming WWE and ECW
champion. But it would all come crashing down months later
when he was pulled over for speeding and busted for possession
of cannabis, forcing him to drop both titles.
“Originally I tried it because of peer pressure. I happened to be
wrestling in Jamaica on my 21st birthday and I noticed that a lot
of my role models that were bodybuilders liked marijuana.”
Rob started smoking it socially while working as a bouncer as he
waited for his wrestling career to take off.
While America’s wave of state legalization 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. He was well accustomed to getting hurt
and taking care of himself. 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 acid or whatever.
“But maybe they were using it under the radar for pain as an
alternative to opiates, I didn’t know at the time.”
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 asked the presenter if
she had any tips for stimulating her appetite.
“I said what about medical marijuana? 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 the documentary Headstrong, which saw
him attempt to shake off a lingering concussion as he travelled
the country on a stand-up comedy tour.
Unlike the countless other concussions over his career, days
passed but his blurred vision persisted. Rob faced the very
real prospect that the years in the ring had caused Chronic
Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) – a degenerative brain disease
experienced by people who have suffered repeat brain trauma.
Thankfully, despite experiencing more than 500 concussions
over his career, a brain scan revealed no sign of CTE. He is one of
the lucky ones, adding that many of his friends have ended their
own lives tragically.
“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 new RVD CBD range. So far,
a tincture and cream are available. However, the end-goal is a
direct formula for athletes. Rob and his team of scientists are ‘still
at Ground Zero with lots of optimism,’ he says. And he’s 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 pre-game pill to be used as a brain protector.
“I just thought, ‘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.”
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