Over the past 30 years, more than 500 players have been suspended by the National Football League for testing positive for substance abuse. In many of those cases, cannabis was the deciding factor. Now, with the recent discussion of changing the current drug policy, suspensions for cannabis could be a thing of the past. Back in January, commissioner Roger Goodell was quoted as saying this about allowing cannabis in the league, “[Medical advisers] look at this constantly, they look at the data, they look at the science and they make those recommendations to us on that basis,” Goodell said. “The union and the NFL work very closely on this. Dee (NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith) and I spoke about this the last two weeks.” Hinting that the NFL may be open to revising its policy on Cannabis.
Many Ex-NFL players have been quoted recently about marijuana and prescriptions drugs, exposing the dark fact that many players have been addicted to Opiate-based painkillers for decades with no issue from the league, but cannabis worked better for them be it THC or CBD treatment. Ex- Miami Dolphin Larry Chester is quoted as saying that after retiring from the NFL, he dealt with chronic pain by “eating opioids,” which he said made him belligerent toward his family and others. What allowed him to quit using opioids was cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabis ingredient that helps to alleviate ailments such as pain, anxiety and inflammation, all without inducing a psychoactive effect. Chester called the CBD treatments “life-saving.”
Another player David Irving, a Dallas Cowboys defensive end who’s currently serving a suspension for testing positive for marijuana, recently responded, “Well once they do that, give me a call,” Irving said. “Cuz it’s bulls–t how I have Xanax bars n hydros right next to me to take, given to me by the NFL of course. However, we can’t smoke the same weed the staff itself smokes.”
Just this past year the National Hockey League made a major shift in their drug policy to virtually make cannabis legal to use as it will no longer be reported to the public and instead the player would be counseled and left to decide whether they have a problem and need help vs. suspensions and public shaming. This is a huge change in the world of professional sports. Hopefully, this is a big sign of things to come for this amazing natural plant that has so many healing properties. An unnamed NHL player named Player X recently made the case for it being legal, “It was a hard time unwinding; it was a day of unbounded stimulation. He woke up and arrived at the rink for a morning skate and meetings, went home to nap, returned to the arena for warm-ups (bright lights and eardrum-blasting music), then exerted his body for 20-something sub-one-minute shifts during which he shoves, sprints, reaches, shoots, gets hit and sometimes bleeds on the ice. By the time he gets home at night, he needs something to ease the process of getting to bed. So he’ll often reach for his weed pen and take a few hits. “Just to relax,” he says. “Honestly, it’s the easiest and most natural way for me to fall asleep and be ready for the next day.”
Hopefully, the NFL will take note, use some common sense and finally do the right thing.
