Movement as a drug

In the interests of “research”, I decided to explore Canada’s liberal decriminalisation of cannabinoids.

Walking into the candy store, sorry, cannabis store, I was visually assaulted by an oricular spectacular of primary coloured canned pop (soda, American adjacents); the Gen-Z equivalent of the alco-pops of my hedonistic tween years - Hooch, the gateway drink to, well, more drinks, could safely be categorised into the Haribo family. I’m still unsure whether it was the alcohol or the glucose which was the more considerable comestible menace. We still don’t know why, when WKD blue was vomited up at parties on the swings in child playgrounds, it came out pink.

Canada’s cannabinoid commerce is clearly aimed at adolescents. Primary coloured cans of soda, labelled with cartoon-like fonts with infantilising brand names such as ‘Bubble Kush’ and ‘Sweet Justice’. These diabetes-inducing cans contain 10mg of THC - a psychoactive sledgehammer to any and all capacity for cognitive function.

Sweet Justice came in two flavours: ‘Original Cola’ flavour (in which case, stop fucking about and just put the cocaine back in from the original recipe);  and ‘Cola-Free’.

I’m still firming up the details of how a ‘Cola-Free cannabis drink’ differs from ‘cannabis’.

I took myself to a beach with a can of wine (hell hath no fury for heathens like me) and two gummies, both with 2mg of THC in them. I took one, and then a second because I have the prefrontal cortex of a squirrel.  As I stumbled through the doors of perception, I was hoping to find Narnia. Instead I got lost on a strip of beach the size of a Brazilian bikini job, and my brain turned into an amorphous blimp.

Turns out the wardrobe door swings both ways. I span out in a car park for a hot minute then located Route 14 Diner, where I atavistically attacked a chicken parmeSAN like a rabid dog masquerading as a pig at the trough.

I am 41 years old. Sorry mum.

Why am I weaving diatribe about drugs into provocative pieces about movement and neuroplasticity?

Because last week, I had the privilege of meeting Chris Coulter in Toronto. Chris founded the MentorWell with Alana Tart, a Canada-wide mentorship scheme for teens. MentorWell was borne out of love for Chris’s daughter Maddie, who ended her life when she was just 14 years old.

Maddie was hilarious, kind and non-conforming. She was also a competitive swimmer, a loving sister and daughter. She sounded like a pretty brilliant young woman to me.

Chris recalls the one time he watched Maddie swim in what would be her last race - “She was fighting in the water. But she wasn’t fighting the water. She was fighting herself.”

Maddie never swam in the water again. She drowned whatever it was she was feeling with alcohol. She was 13 years old.

Chris thinks for a minute, and tells me he’s terrified to today’s teens unbridled access to cannabis. The legal age to purchase these candy-store drugs is 19, but how is that being enforced, if at all?

Decriminalising drugs diminishes the dark side of drug dealing - cartels, gang violence and trafficking of vulnerable people and minors.

Regulation is the safeguard for the end user. We don’t issue pharmaceutical drugs without prescription, so why are we so laissez faire regarding recreational drugs?

I asked Chris if Maddie had considered the competitive element too unbearable for her to continue? The proliferation of pressure on young minds is anguish-inducing.

Anxiety presents in much the same way as ADHD - lack of executive dysfunction, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity (including self medicating with drugs and alcohol), hyperactivity and inattention.

The neurobiological commonalities between ADHD and anxiety are dysregulated dopamine and norepinephrine systems - these are neurotransmitters affecting attention, motivation, mood and executive function.

I often wonder how many teens are being prescribed amphetamines for anxiety mistaken as neurodiversity. When you exist constantly in fire-fighting mode due to stress, it puts you in a state of indeterminate hyper-vigilance. Your ability to concentrate on anything other than threat is decimated. Prolonged stressors, such as preparing for an exam, competition or event, results in listening to the noise but not the words - focus is decimated. It’s either chaos or total collapse.

It’s this repeated idea of movement as dosage that I cannot escape this week - from my own downfall into eating disorders and substance use when I was a professional dancer; to stories like Maddies…

To be clear, I am not intimating that competitive swimming was the reason for Maddie’s tragic decision to depart this mortal meatsuit we call life; that we can never know.

Excessive competition in sports during adolescence can place significant stress on the developing brain, particularly affecting executive function. The adolescent brain, especially the prefrontal cortex - responsible for decision-making, emotional regulation, and impulse control - is still maturing and highly sensitive to stress hormones like cortisol. Chronic exposure to competitive pressure can impair this region’s development, potentially leading to difficulties with attention, planning, and emotional regulation. Instead of fostering resilience, intense and unrelenting competition may increase anxiety and reduce intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation refers to doing something because you find it inherently interesting, enjoyable, or personally satisfying. This is what we feel when we move for fun - a game of frisbee on a beach; a spontaneous tug of war.

Extrinsic motivation is driven by external factors - doing something to earn a reward (or avoid punishment).

Young people need to find joy > competition in movement or the motivation to move transcends from intrinsic to extrinsic. If they choose to elevate to a performance / elite level, then we must resource them well so they can understand and manage the stress element of the external validation / criticism loop.

It’s worth noting that there’s no shame in walking (not sprinting, natch) away from what isn’t working for you any longer.

“It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.”

~ Confucius