Stoner Blog; Marijuana In The NFL
Marijuana in sports has been a long time controversy. There are the people who believe that athletes shouldn’t be able to smoke at all, seeing as how marijuana is a dangerous drug and all. And then there are the people who don’t see the harm in letting these hard training, pain enduring people enjoy some comfort when they’re off the field/court/etc.
Of course, with football being one of the leading sports to watch in America, it has been a huge debate on whether or not the players should be tested for THC and, if so, what the consequences should be. Just the thought of football is enough to make some people’s brains rattle and their bones hurt. These guys weigh upwards of 200 pounds and proceed to throw that weight around like tanks, knocking their opponents to the ground, sometimes permanently. Recently, the NFL has released information that they’ve been leaning towards legalizing medical marijuana for players with a doctors recommendation.
The NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested that the popular sports league is looking in to allowing players who live in legal states to continue the use of their medicine. This makes sense, as a lot of states are now beginning to jump on the medical bandwagon in the wake of the Colorado/Washington legalization. Even though such steps have been made at a state level, the NFL still drug tests its players for THC. According to the rules set forth regarding the NFL (also known as the collective bargaining agreement), ILLEGAL marijuana use is banned. Unfortunately for the NFL, this leaves a large loophole, seeing as how marijuana isn’t illegal in every state anymore. If a player is told by their doctor that they can ingest marijuana, they should be able to without consequence to their career.
As said above, even the thought of football is enough to make some people cringe. The concussions, broken bones, and constant adrenaline, not to mention strained muscles, are all extremely valid reasons that a player should use medical marijuana. When a doctor recommends a medicine to help improve a person’s well being, there should be no argument about whether or not the patient can take their medicine. Football is extremely dangerous and it is these players specifically that can benefit from marijuana use. Howard Bryant from ESPN stated back in December that the NFL should be the first major sports league to recognize marijuana as a medicine and allow players to use it if needed. “Marijuana is a legitimate pain reliever – especially for migraines which are the by product of head trauma – and is far less dangerous and potentially addictive than, say, OxyContin, it is almost immoral to deny players the right to use it”. Simply put, let players smoke their pot.
Marijuana is becoming a solid part of society. As the snowball started by Colorado and Washington continues to grow, organizations such as the NFL won’t have a choice but to allow the players to smoke. If marijuana is legal in every state, I’m sure that almost every player will be toking up after the games.
Even if the NFL doesn’t allow marijuana use within the league, the college students that they draft certainly will be testing out the lax marijuana laws that we’re sure to see in the near future. It looks like the NFL might be rethinking their marijuana policy very soon or risk loosing some of their best prospects during the draft.