NEW YORK – OCTOBER 31: Al Harrington #7, New York Knicks, rests during game against the…
On July 12, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA announced a multiyear partnership with Re+Play. Re+Play is a performance-based CBD Wellness brand that was launched in 2021 in partnership by Harrington Wellness, a company started by Al Harrington and Avicanna, a biopharmaceutical firm focused on developing plant-derived cannabinoid products.
A line of proprietary-formulated recovery creams will be the first product to be released from this partnership. It was developed in collaboration with Avicanna.
Harrington Wellness and the NBPA also announced that Re+Play would be available through Amazon and Walmart.
Al Harrington, CEO, Harrington Wellness, stated in a press release that “Re+Play’s partnership avec the NBPA will provide customers with a wealth, trusted, technology-driven products help them recover like a professional.”
He said, “As we enter the next phase in the Re+Play brand, with our strategic partners at Amazon and the NBPA and Walmart, it is exciting to once more reimagine the way we help athletes recover from pain using CBD and other innovative technologies.”
THINK450, a subsidiary of the NBPA, said. Que Gaskins was charged with overseeing the licensing rights of players’ groups.
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Harrington Wellness is now an “official partner” in the NBPA. This arrangement is Harrington’s latest attempt as a cannabis entrepreneur. Viola was founded in 2012 and is Harrington’s latest venture.
Harrington was not the only NBA star who joined the cannabis industry to become entrepreneurs.
Kevin Durant, a former NBA player, joined Canopy Rivers’ advisory board in 2019. Canopy Rivers is an investment and acquisition firm that specializes in cannabis. He then invested in cannabis and CBD via his investment company Thirty Five Ventures. Weedmaps recently signed a deal to help de-stigmatize cannabis.
Gary Payton, a former NBA player signed a licensing agreement with Cookies, a cannabis lifestyle brand. This exclusive agreement allowed Gary Payton to license his name and image.
Michele Roberts was the former head of NBPA, from 2014 to 2021. She joined Cresco Labs’ board in 2020. Cresco Labs is one of the most well-known publicly traded cannabis companies in America.
The Herrington-NBPA partnership is not directly led by the NBA, but the association made the first steps to reduce the league’s prohibition on cannabis use.
In fact, the association announced that it would not randomly test players for marijuana during the 2021-2022 season.
Many NBA players have supported CBD products in recent years. The deal between Harrington, the NBPA, has strengthened the position of NBA players.
It also created a CBD market that is worth billions of US dollars.
According to the Brightfield Group cannabis research and data firm, CBD products generated more than $4 billion in revenue between 2018 and 2019, and CBD sales in the United States reached $4.6 billion in 2020. The market for CBD products is expected to grow up to $16 billion by 2025.
CBD is an intoxicating, non-intoxicating marijuana compound. Numerous studies have shown its pain-relieving properties and healing abilities.
Many injuries are common for athletes, such as NBA players who play a full-contact sport.
An epidemiological study that examined 625 basketball players and 3543 injuries found that the most common areas of injury were in the lower body, specifically the knee, ankle and foot.
Players require reliable pain management therapy in order to reduce injuries and prolong their playing time.
Opioids and other analgesics are often the only options for drug therapy.
CBD could be used to relieve the pain. There are numerous studies that show CBD’s therapeutic benefits for athletes who participate in endurance or full-contact sports.
CBD can be used to manage chronic pain, speed up tissue healing, reduce inflammation, increase muscle recovery and strengthen bones. It also helps accelerate fracture healing through modulating the actions of the endocannabinoid.
The deal between Herrington Wellness and the NBPA represents a significant step forward in CBD use in sport, especially after the World Anti-Doping Agency took CBD off its banned substances list in 2017.
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