et’s start with some science and chemistry. Seems like only last semester we were talking about Adderall and methylhexanamine and other performance-enhancing drugs. Now it’s all about cannabidiol (CBD) oils and their medicinal benefits and legality. CBD oil is extracted from hemp, which is a form of cannabis, a flowering plant that’s been around forever. It has multiple uses and byproducts, some legal and some illegal. Of course, marijuana is the first thing most people probably think of when cannabis is mentioned, and for most of our lifetimes, it’s been mostly illegal. But you don’t have to subscribe to High Times to know that the world’s views on cannabis are rapidly evolving, especially when it comes to CBD and hemp (which has less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, aka THC, aka the stuff in marijuana that gets you high). And according to USA Today, “The least processed form of the cannabis plant is hemp. Hemp contains most of the CBD that people use medicinally. Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant (cannabis) but the two are very different.” CBD doesn’t get you high like marijuana does, but both offer natural pain relief and have anti-inflammatory properties.

Rather than get any further into the weeds here, let’s fast-forward to Anaheim. Back in the privateer ranks, Dean Wilson showed up with a new sponsor on his rig, awning, bike, and gear. Ignite is a company founded by U.S. Navy sailor-turned-poker player-turned entrepreneur Dan Bilzerian, and it’s become a juggernaut in the cannabis industry. They sell a wide variety of cannabis products and use slick marketing tools and lots of social media to get their message out. They also sponsor a lot of athletes, and Dean Wilson became one of them—with an emphasis on CBD oils instead of some of the other cannabis products Ignite sells.

Meanwhile, the backlash against the decision was quick. People argued that a sport where alcohol and tobacco products were once title sponsors shouldn’t deny a rider the right to run a CBD oil sticker. The whole topic was mooted for the second round in Glendale, because CBD oil is not legal in Arizona anyway. Then the red-hot Wilson ended up signing up with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna factory team as a replacement for injured champion Jason Anderson, which meant using the team’s sponsors—none of which are CBD-related. The 2019 oil crisis was over. For now, anyway.

hat had begun as a lesson in the evolution of cannabis in America turned quickly into a crash chemistry course on the volatile reaction of calcium oxide (lime) when added to H2O (water). This experiment took place in the giant petri dish known as San Diego’s Petco Park on February 2. All week leading up to the race, forecasters were predicting a storm on Saturday night—the same night that supercross would be running. The Dirt Wurx crew built the track quickly, covered it with tarps, and waited for the rain. Race officials watched the weather and decided to hold off practice and qualifying as late as they could. And as Murphy’s Law would have it, no sooner did they start to peel off the tarps late that afternoon than the rain started to pour. At some point the decision was made to add lime to the soil as a drying agent—something that has long been done in such situations.

“We go out and use it just like you would on a construction site or just like you would on a farm. It’s used every day to firm up soil,” said Feld’s senior director of operations for supercross, Dave Prater. “We started putting the lime down about 2:45, roughly, and just as soon as we had it down on the start straight and that one bowl berm between the two whoop lanes, at 3:20 [the rain] just came down on us hard and fast.”

But the show must go on. The track crew and officials heroically pulled off the race in a deluge, and Kawasaki riders Adam Cianciarulo (250) and Eli Tomac (450) survived the elements best to take the main-event wins. But the next morning, there was no joy in mudville. Instead, an organic social-media tsunami was heading right for the promoters. Without any obvious organization or coordination, competitors from the previous night’s race began posting photos of strange rashes and blisters that were popping up on parts of their bodies that may have been exposed to the elements.

“Me and other riders had problems with getting burns and rashes from the lime,” posted Honda factory rider Ken Roczen. “It’s so bad that I can barely sit today for real! Nipples are pretty much gone too LOL. This sucks.”

“I’m all messed up from the weekend,” Honda privateer Vann Martin posted. “Burns all over my body from the lime in the dirt… My legs, stomach, chest, shoulders, nipples, butt, and balls are all scraped up. The bottom of my butt cheeks are by far the worst but I didn’t feel it would be appropriate to post, haha. It’s rough. Burns bad still. I feel for all the riders that have the same affects and for all the mechanics that are having to put in the overtime.”

Then they started to organize. As both the AMA and Feld were putting out statements about monitoring the situation, the riders were apparently talking among themselves about some kind of restitution for the damage to their skin and their motorcycles—the lime was having a corrosive effect on expensive parts as well. Feld quickly started calling and offering each rider $5,000 to help defray the costs, but the riders wanted more: they wanted a meeting, and they wanted to be heard. Among those leading the charge were multi-time champion Chad Reed and the veteran Tyler Bowers, a former AMA Arenacross Champion and a 250SX main-event winner.

The following Saturday morning, while a polar vortex hammered the Midwest, the riders met with Feld Motor Sports officials inside U.S. Bank Stadium. It was a private meeting that media was not allowed to attend, but it apparently went well by most counts. A media roundtable with Feld Motor Sports followed.

“This was a very unique set of circumstances,” said Feld’s vice president of operations, Todd Jendro. “We had no intent to injure anyone or create any of the stuff that oxidized or ruined parts on a motorcycle, by any means, but I think most of you guys know that. We’re going to reevaluate things we do in outdoor settings. Where there is rain coming, maybe it just doesn’t make sense to use lime anymore. For now, its use is suspended.”

Everyone was pleased to hear that—including Tyler Bowers, who by now appeared to be emerging as the voice of the riders, and possibly the leader of a new coalition of sorts, maybe even a union. . . .

ack to science, with a little bit of marketing mixed in. Many believe that CBD will be the next influx of sponsorship money into the sport, following the same pattern we’ve seen most recently with energy drinks, and before that cellular devices, video games, pickup trucks, and those aforementioned alcohol and tobacco products. It’s really only a matter of time, though that time can’t come soon enough for many.

Chad Reed is one of them. The JGRMX/Yoshimura Suzuki rider rode out for practice in Minneapolis with a decal for cbdMD products on his helmet and basically dared the officials to do anything about it. His argument was that CBD is legal in Minnesota and had been displayed prominently during the previous summer’s X Games inside U.S. Bank Stadium. Feld, still doing damage control over what by now was being referred to as “limegate,” was caught off guard. They decided to let Reed slide for the day so they and the AMA could get a better understanding of the topic and how one can and can’t advertise CBD products.

Six days later, just before the Arlington round in Texas—where CBD is not legal—the AMA issued a statement that read: “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. Signage or promotional displays for CBD-related products will not be allowed in the pit areas. No rider will be allowed to race with logos or other promotional displays on their person, their uniform, their gear, or on their bike.”

And that’s that. For now, anyway. If you’re signing up for summer courses you may see a slightly different policy.

ur next lesson is one in physics, specifically the Pauli exclusion principle. Simply stated, two masses cannot occupy the same space. This was on full display in the second 450 heat in Arlington when Tyler Bowers punted Justin Barcia out into a banked left turn. It offered Bowers an unexpected opportunity to repay Barcia for a leg-breaking run-in from last May’s Las Vegas Supercross, and he headed to the exact same spot Barcia was going. The contact was not one of bone-breaking force, but old Woflgang Pauli had a point—and you won’t find two competitors more steadily aggressive than Bowers and Barcia. Both went down, and then Bowers was out as race officials DQ’d him for overly aggressive riding.

The next morning, Tyler went on a full-throttle digital defense of his actions, posting a lengthy apology on Instagram. He added, “I believe aggressive racing is what makes this sport what it is at its core, I’ve also dished it so I have to be able to take it at times, as well.” Then he went into a critique of what he perceived to be an inconsistency in the handling of similar situations, taking umbrage with one official in particular.

“While I feel the penalty to be extreme, I don’t 100% disagree with AMA or FIM’s (specifically John Gallagher’s) decision,” Bowers wrote. “The real problem I have is with the lack of CONSISTENCY in which these multiple sanctioning bodies base their decisions upon in these type of matters. There have already been numerous incidents brought to the officials’ attention by myself and other racers regarding @justinbarcia’s over the top, aggressive racing tactics.” He then went described the events of Las Vegas and then really took the aforementioned Gallagher to task: “When I was approached last night I was barely able to defend myself because I was being interrupted the whole time by an official who has never swung a leg over a bike in professional racing. It bothers me that this official who is in a position of power, emotionally argued facts that I witnessed happening on the race track…”

Bowers rounded off the whole episode by bringing it back to “limegate” and the ensuing organization of the riders that he was leading, offering: “For the record, I don’t believe this has anything to with the recent lime incident or with what myself and other riders/teams are trying to accomplish with the promoters of Supercross. We have opened better communication between all parties involved, and will continue to meet each weekend to improve operations and keep one another better informed. I think by continuing these meetings, issues like this will only improve so long as everyone can share their point of view and we can better understand each other (even if we don’t always agree) while working together.”

Whether you agree or disagree with the way Bowers rides, you can’t argue that he’s a bright, thoughtful, and articulate leader.

eanwhile, the show continued to go on—and what a great show it was in Arlington, as Cooper Webb waited until literally the last second to snatch the lead and the win away from Roczen, and with it the points lead and a ton of momentum. Despite all the challenges and controversies and outside debates, Monster Energy AMA Supercross continued to evolve and deliver as a pure entertainment vehicle.

Class dismissed.