Sacramento State’s first Cannabis in Health and Performance Symposium was hosted Friday, Nov. 21 at Solano Hall to bring together researchers, cannabis industry leaders, students and health professionals.

The symposium included three guest speakers and five panelists that explored the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and how cannabis impacts health, medicine and physical performance in exercise.

The ECS operates as a biological signaling system that shapes how neurons change and form their connections, helps the brain develop and influences how people respond to environmental stressors, according to the Biological Psychiatry.

Yessenia Marquez Villarreal, a graduate student working toward a Master of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science, said she coordinated the event after creating the campus’ first Cannabis Club in fall 2021.

“I recognized there was a missing puzzle piece in all my science classes,” Marquez Villarreal said. ”It was hard for some of my professors to answer questions regarding the endocannabinoid system until my motor learning class.”

The Cannabis Club was discontinued in spring 2022 because Marquez Villareal graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. When she began to pursue her master’s, she wanted to bring the conversation about cannabis back onto campus through the symposium.

“I can help bridge gaps in the field because I can recognize the gaps between medical health sciences and academia,” Marquez Villarreal said.

Marquez Villarreal said the lack of education and hesitation to start the conversation has led to cannabis in medicine being understudied. Gwenaelle Begue, a kinesiology professor and co-coordinator of the symposium, said it’s difficult to educate the public with little reliable information.

“We’re trying to break that cycle by inciting research on cannabis,” Begue said.

Begue said people still use cannabis regardless of its legal status in any country, making the research on it important.

The symposium began with Begue and Marquez Villarreal explaining the ECS and its basic functions.“That fits into what we do, which is studying exercise in the aspect of performance with athletes,” Begue said. “It’s also a part of ‘Exercise for Health in Parkinson’s.’ Both use cannabis in conjunction with exercise, health and performance.”

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Exercise for Health in Performance is a study on Parkinson’s disease currently conducted by Begue and Matt Brown, a kinesiology professor, to educate individuals on how to use cannabis in conjunction with exercise to improve health and performance, Begue said.

Other speakers included cannabis plant horticulturist Robert Flannery, Cal Poly Humboldt kinesiology professor Whitney Ogle and clinical researcher Elizabeth Thompson. The panel comprised the speakers in addition to Crystal Nugs Cannabis Dispensary CEO Maisha Bahati, A Therapeutic Alternative Cannabis Dispensary CEO Kimberly Cargile and economist strategist Khalil Ferguson.

Ogle, who is also the co-director of the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research, discussed her research on how cannabis influences participation, physiological and psychological factors in different physical activities.

“The top reasons why people use cannabis in our study were to help people focus or concentrate, to enjoy the exercise experience, to enhance mind, body, spirit connection and to keep them in the zone,” Ogle said.

According to Begue and Ogle, Cal Poly Humboldt is the only California State University campus that operates a mobile cannabis lab that conducts field research in cannabis lounges, where they survey cannabis users before and after they smoke a pre-rolled joint of their choice.

In addition to her research in cannabis lounges, Ogle shared her preliminary research where she explored the performance of running, juggling and planking between people who use cannabis and those who don’t.

“There were a lot of products out there specific for exercise,” Ogle said. “I wanted to look into it further and realized the reason why we’re not talking about it in classes – It’s because there’s not any research on it. The research that did exist happened in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.”

The Controlled Substance Act classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug, resulting in the criminalization of cannabis on the federal level in 1970, according to the Library of Congress.

Nearly 50 years later, as of February 2024, the medicinal use of cannabis has been decriminalized in 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The recreational use of cannabis has been decriminalized for adults in 24 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the North Mariana Islands.

Begue said the combination of lack of standardization of administering cannabis to consumers and the absence of cannabis lounges in Sacramento is one of the biggest struggles cannabis researchers at Sac State face.

“Consumption lounges might be the way to bring the lab to the consumer, but it is still limited on what we can do,” Begue said. “There’s no consumption lounges yet in Sacramento, but they’re coming. I think for us, the next step will be to explore that avenue to do the research.”

Crystal Nugs Cannabis Dispensary is expected to open Sacramento’s first cannabis consumption lounge, located on J Street, at the end of 2026.

Marquez Villarreal said the biggest misconception about cannabis research is the “lazy stoner” stigma, but researchers like her recognize the medicinal properties.

“I’m trying to approach it from a scientific angle because I would like for my research to have an impact in improving people’s quality of life,” Marquez Villarreal said. “I don’t want them to be afraid of alternative therapy and hesitate.”

The next cannabis symposium at Sac State is expected on April 17, 2026, but dates are subject to change.