David Douglas, MMA Fighter, Uses Medical Cannabis

At a fighting gym in Pleasant Hill, there's a gallon of ointment that was originally developed for horses, although David Douglas uses it to fight.

It's called Xternal and it's his sponsor, which means it will be printed on the gear he'll wear Friday when he fights in the Stockton Arena live on television. It soothes muscles, and allows the 155-pound, 28-year-old, to work out the eight hours daily necessary to bench press three times his weight.
 
It's also made entirely from cannabis, like the seven grams of pot Douglas says he smokes every day.



Xternal is wildly popular among fighters. So is pot: many other fighters aside from Stockton native Nicky Diaz are regular tokers, according to Tarzan (and since he can bench-press 465 pounds, we will not argue).  Diaz expounded upon the many benefits of pot in a 2009 LA Times interview.

tarzan 3.jpg
Chris Roberts
What Marijuana Can Do For You


It's believed to be the first time a pot-related balm is being pushed in a major promotion MMA show -- if not all MMA brands (we are, unfortunately, neophytes). It will certainly be the greatest visibility for Hercules Health Center, medical cannabis dispensary that sells Xternal, where Douglas is a collective member.

Pot works wonders for fighters in the same way it heals horses, says Dr. Todd Kaufmann, the resident medicine man at the cooperative. Kaufman has Douglas on the Xternal and on a regimen that includes the hyperbaric chamber taking up a large part of a room in the office suite.


Follow us on Twitter at @TheSnitchSF and @SFWeekly



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