Should the NFL softens it’s hardship on marijuana being illegal in the NFL? Pro football has a history of keeping marijuana on the banned substance list, even as public opinion has gravitated toward its legalization and available research has identified its potential to be a helpful substance. As marijuana is becoming legal in many states. Players are lobbying for it to be legal in the NFL.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed to cooperate in studying the potential use of marijuana as a pain management tool for players, representing a possible shift in the league’s approach to an issue on which several players have been outspoken. The NFL season is a long painful season. Players around the NFL don’t survive the whole 17 week season. Some teams advance to the postseason. So their season isn’t over until January or February. Players have been known to take painkillers for injuries. Players and Former players around the NFL have expressed the fact that painkillers have made them become addicted after their careers are over. Some players don’t like to use painkillers at all because they are scared of the possible addiction it could come with.
I think medical marijuana should become legal in the NFL for the players. You hear more players around the NFL express the desire for it to be legal. Plus it’s becoming more legal in other states. Some players have expressed frustration over the continued punishment of players who test positive for marijuana, even if it’s being used to help manage pain. Players around the NFL like Josh Gordon have been suspended numerous times for testing positive for marijuana.
I think as more players around the NFL advocate for marijuana usage there will be more studies going into it. Players and former players have said that marijuana helps to cope with the rigors of playing the violent sport and that the NFL should relax its standards. According to the Washington Post, former offensive lineman Eugene Monroe stated that “This pain is never going away,” Monroe said in 2017. “My body is damaged. I have to manage it somehow. Managing it with pills was slowly killing me. Now I’m able to function and be extremely efficient by figuring out how to use different formulations of cannabis.” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said that the league would consider allowing players to use marijuana for pain management for pain management if it is established as valid by medical and scientific experts.
Do you think marijuana should be legal in the NFL? Do you think marijuana is a safer usage to use rather than pills? Players around the NFL believe pills is a more dangerous drug to use to cope with the pain. Do you think they are making this up? Do you think there will ever be enough research to to legalize it in the NFL?