By Benji Garcia-Reyes
IG: @themedimexican
The current NFL substance abuse policy tests for marijuana and suspends a player after four violations. Marijuana is still against federal law (it is classified as a Schedule 1 drug) and it is still banned in all professional sports. Yet, there has been an undeniable evolution of attitude as more states are decriminalizing marihuana or starting a medical use program. Former and current players, more scientific backing, and economic or other business-related disadvantages will eventually lead to lesser or no suspensions for the use of cannabis.
hTennessee Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan, the only active NFL player publicly advocating for medical cannabis, as well as other former players have learned that Cannabidiol can help stabilize the brain after injury. The most common is of these is CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy,) a progressive degenerative disease found in people who have had a severe blow or repeated blows to the head.
Michael Hoffer, a professor of otolaryngology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine said “There may only be a few brain cells that are injured to the point of no return” during trauma, but that “There are a lot of brain cells at risk right around those cells. If we can stabilize those we can prevent the dominos from falling.” Then there are the pain killers and the risk of developing an addiction to them. Former Saints left tackle and founding member of the Gridiron Cannabis Coalition Kyle Turley used to take and be addicted to Vicodin, Flexeril, Percocets, Vioxx, and morphine. Like Turley, former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer got off the need and use of pills thru the use of cannabis.
NFL owners foresee many issues until the substance abuse policy changes. Having some teams be in “legal” states, which means because cannabis is legal in the team’s state, lesser or no suspensions may occur. However, for teams in states where cannabis has not yet been decriminalized, the NFL would have to suspend players, which can result in competitive disadvantages for many teams. Even if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says his medical staff has not yet recommended it, changes to the current drug policy would need to be agreed upon by the league and the NFL Players Association, either as part of the next CBA negotiations, or a much faster way, as a separate policy.
