When Bridgeport Motorsports Park in Swedesboro, New Jersey, welcomed On the High Side as one of its sponsors, it raised a few eyebrows. The racing-inspired clothing brand sends a portion of its sales to the Connor Sheffield Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that funds medical cannabis research.
Racer Connor Sheffield, 17, and his father, Michael, founded On the High Side. Connor suffered from intestinal pseudo-obstruction and dysmotility, where the muscles of the digestive system become impaired.
“Connor’s childhood was robbed from him — he was sickly,” said Michael, of Havre de Grace, Maryland. “In 2018, his mom and I were faced with the decision of whether or not to put him on palliative care. He was diagnosed by doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital, but cannabis was not in the discussion.”
The Sheffields heard from friends that cannabis could treat a multitude of conditions in the human body.
“People said how great the plant was, even in microdoses,” Michael said. “It became legal in Maryland in 2017. We pushed it off for a year, and finally we tried it as a last resort. It started working.”
Connor said that it has greatly helped him enjoy a better quality of life.
“Cannabis has made my pain and nausea go away,” said Connor. “I am able to race because I am not sick or in pain.”
At the end of 2020, Connor Sheffield started racing 600 sprints at Linda’s Speedway in Jonestown, Pennsylvania, and Bridgeport Motorsports Park. His first feature win came last year at Linda’s Speedway. For those who think Connor races impaired, he countered.
“Using cannabis medicine does not affect my ability to compete,” Connor said. “I microdose, and I do not use it prior to racing.
“We in no way promote driving any motor vehicle while impaired. My microdose amount of oil in a week’s time does not even add up to the amount of THC in the average rolled joint.”
The Sheffields attribute Connor’s turnaround in health, let alone the ability to race, to the medicinal properties of cannabis. They’re sharing that story through the Connor Sheffield Foundation and On the High Side.
“On the High Side has both racing and medical connotations,” said Michael. “The message is to bring awareness and unite the communities of racing and cannabis to end the stigma associated with plant medicine.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
