Riders Preferred Membership
Shop by Vehicle
Track Order
Contact Us
This weekend saw both the closest finish in Supercross history and another distraction from the racing, as the AMA issued a ban on logos of companies selling legal CBD products.
While we reported last year that the legal cannabis industry is making tentative inroads as a sponsor in freestyle motocross, that's far from the case in Monster Energy Supercross. The American Motorcyclist Association has now banned logos of companies selling cannabidiol (CBD) products.
The ban was in response to the recent appearance of a logo for cdbMD, a company that sells CBD products, on former champion Chad Reed's helmet. CBD products, sold as oils, capsules or gummies, are often used as anti-inflammatories or pain relievers. People suffering from a variety of diseases also use CBD products.
You can see the cbdMD logo on Reed's helmet in this Instagram post by the company.
The AMA statement said, in part, "The law regarding CBD products, including their lawful sale, possession, advertising, and sponsorship of them, is unsettled. Notwithstanding the change in federal law in December 2018, there are no federal regulations in place yet on how these products can be advertised or promoted. CBD and related products are not completely legal in all 50 states and there are various restrictions on their sale and promotion."
The "federal law" the AMA statement referred was the Farm Bill passed last year by Congress and signed by President Trump. A provision stated that CBD made from hemp is legal. Hemp and marijuana are related, but hemp contains very little tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — in other words, the stuff that gets you high.
Earlier in the year, Dean Wilson was prevented from displaying a logo for the company Ignite on his motorcycle because NBC was concerned about possible legal issues. That was more of a gray area, however, as Ignite sells both CBD products and marijuana, the latter of which is not federally legal. (That led to #freeIGNITE on the merchandise Wilson was selling at the time as a privateer to help fund his team, as well as posts on social media by Ignite owner Dan Bilzerian, who has millions of followers, that undoubtedly got more attention than the tiny logo on Wilson's bike would have.)
Unlike Ignite, cbdMD sells only CBD products made from hemp, not marijuana. So it should be no problem, right?
Apparently not.
Reactions seemed to be mostly negative and they fell into several categories. More than a few off-road riding fans touted the benefits of CBD for dealing with the injuries that often come with motocross competition, saying it is far better than other painkillers that may be addictive. One parent posted on Reed's Instagram account that CBD had helped his son deal with Tourette's Syndrome and the boy had gone from a school dropout to a straight-A student. Some fans suggested it is hypocritical for a sport that used to rely on alcohol and tobacco sponsorship and currently depends heavily on sponsorship from energy drink companies selling products of questionable nutritional value to ban advertising for a non-addictive, non-psychoactive pain remedy.
Meanwhile, despite the controversies over riders injured by lime at San Diego and the CBD issue, it's shaping up to be a closely contested and exciting Supercross season. That was certainly true Saturday night at Arlington, Texas, where we saw the closest finish in series history. Cooper Webb won his fourth race of the season and denied Ken Roczen his first win this year, when it seemed Roczen had the race under control. If you missed the race, check out the highlights, especially the finish.
Image Gallery
