A new gym opening in San Francisco this fall is planning to be the first-ever “cannabis gym,” where members can consume marijuana on-site while working out. The gym is called Power Plant Fitness which is co-founded by former NFL player, Ricky Williams, and 420 Games founder, Jim McAlpine.

“It won’t be a place to get high and just screw around,” wrote Jim McAlpine on the company’s blog. “We are focused on the athletic side, not the cannabis side.”

The gym will follow the 420 Games' mission which is, “to reverse the lazy stereotypes about pot users.” The 420 Games is McAlpine’s other venture where pot enthusiasts compete in triathlons, obstacle courses, golf tournaments, and the signature 4.20-mile run.

McAlpine also explains that having Williams as his partner is amazing because he truly exemplifies hard work and that he is a cannabis user who is very athletic. Williams was the Heisman Trophy winner in 1998 and rushed for over 10,000 yards in the NFL during his professional career. Anyone who understands the rigors of having to train and play at that level is elite, and Williams was known to be a cannabis user which simply destroys the myth of the lazy stoner.

“I think sports will become one of the bigger pieces of the marijuana industry. Marijuana, if you use it in a responsible way, accentuates the parts of sports that you love and helps you to do them better,” McAlpine told SFGate.

Cannabis affects each user differently and with more research on different parts of the cannabis plant we can determine the type of cannabis consumption to pair with our work outs. For information to help you, one of our own MERRY JANE writers gives tips on how it helped her.

The gym will also be releasing a product line of branded marijuana edibles and concentrates to accompany the grand opening this fall. For more information on Power Plant Fitness you can check out the blog here.

There are true benefits to cannabis when it comes to fitness; for instance, did you know that cannabis smokers are statistically skinnier and have a lower BMI (body mass index) with more efficient and consistent blood sugar levels than their non-smoking counterparts? This type of research is now helping people understand the true benefits of cannabis with more companies catering to this specific crowd.