The terms ‘sports’ and ‘injuries’ go hand in hand. It’s a pity that despite cannabis being available, sportspersons have to resort to taking addictive opioids to deal with severe pain, resulting from injuries.

However, with the legalization of cannabis across many states (and countries), the sports industry’s relationship with the drug — or at least with CBD — has slowly begun to change for the better, it seems.

Reportedly, as many as 30 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) athletes have signed up to participate in a multiphase clinical trial on CBD’s effects on pain relief in their high impact sport. The study will be led by a research scientist from the University of Alberta and Aurora Cannabis’s VP of global research and medical affairs.

The results will then be utilized by Aurora Cannabis to make hemp-derived effective topical CBD applications for sportspersons.

“Collaborating with Aurora is the best way to educate ourselves and our MMA fighters about the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on athletes and our sport,” said UFC’s vice president of performance, Duncan French. “We want to make use of science and see where it leads us. It will help us determine the effectiveness of hemp-derived CBD on athlete health and injury recovery.”

This isn’t the first time that individuals from the sports industry have associated themselves in some capacity with the marijuana landscape. Earlier this year, the NHL Alumni Association announced that it was a co-sponsor of a study of CBD’s impacts on 100 former hockey players with brain trauma. The NFL too made its plans public lately to conduct studies on cannabis as a pain relief agent.

Many insiders, though, believe that cannabis use is still prevalent, if not the norm in many leagues. A group of former professional basketball players, including the likes of Cutting Mobley and Kenyon Martin, have openly said that roughly 85% of the NBA players use cannabis.

UFC officials said in a press release that they hoped the project would have positive outcomes, which may push other sports to reconsider their approach towards the cannabinoid, if not the drug itself.