Post by Purple Pain on Mar 24, 2019 17:22:07 GMT -6
'These players are suffering': Doctors, ex-players push the NFL to change its pot policy by Alexis Keenan
Link: finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-weed-policy-doctors-for-cannabis-regulation-120816650.html
As more states legalize medical marijuna, former NFL players have a message for the league’s top brass: stop punishing players for using cannabis.
“This isn't a joke,” Eugene Monroe, former offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, told Yahoo Finance. “This is men's lives that you have decision to make a huge impact on. There are players suffering.”
Monroe — the first active NFL player to openly advocate for the use of medical marijuana, and dropped by the Ravens after making his public stance — is pushing the NFL to reform its cannabis policy in partnership with prominent physicians who agree that the league’s no tolerance rule is doing players more harm than good.
He’s not alone. Earlier this month, Cowboys lineman David Irving said he was quitting the NFL over its weed policy after he was suspended indefinitely for violating it.
‘NFL players experience a high degree of pain’
Under NFL rules, players are prohibited from using cannabis, even to treat medical conditions in states where medical marijuana is legal.
“It doesn't matter where you live, you're bound to the rules,” Monroe said. “So if you live in Colorado and you play for the Broncos, and you test positive, you will be punished regardless of that state having both medical and recreational programs.”
Active players face a difficult choice between medical cannabis and other medications such as opioids used to treat pain and other ailments. Cannabis use can result in escalating penalties, and even league suspension, for repeat offenders.
“It's a well known fact that NFL players experience a high degree of pain,” Monroe said. “We also see synonymous with that fact, a higher usage of opioid drugs. Our goal is really to use this as an example, to use this as the beacon to say, ‘Hey this is a population of people who are experiencing a great benefit of using this drug for their pain relief for their insomnia, for their stress, for all of these things that there are millions of people around the world that are fighting for.’”
Retired NFL players are four times more likely to use painkillers than the general population, according to 2011 research from the Washington University School of Medicine.
A 2018 study published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine found that among retired NFL players, 26% reported use of prescription opioids within the last 30 days, and of those who reported use, 12% said they used opioids other than as prescribed or opioids that were not prescribed to them.
Despite its federal prohibition and continued classification as an illegal Schedule I substance, cannabis has been legalized for medical use by 33 states and the District of Columbia, and is recognized as effective in treating chronic pain, seizures, severe muscle spasms, and other conditions.
“This isn't a joke,” Eugene Monroe, former offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, told Yahoo Finance. “This is men's lives that you have decision to make a huge impact on. There are players suffering.”
Monroe — the first active NFL player to openly advocate for the use of medical marijuana, and dropped by the Ravens after making his public stance — is pushing the NFL to reform its cannabis policy in partnership with prominent physicians who agree that the league’s no tolerance rule is doing players more harm than good.
He’s not alone. Earlier this month, Cowboys lineman David Irving said he was quitting the NFL over its weed policy after he was suspended indefinitely for violating it.
‘NFL players experience a high degree of pain’
Under NFL rules, players are prohibited from using cannabis, even to treat medical conditions in states where medical marijuana is legal.
“It doesn't matter where you live, you're bound to the rules,” Monroe said. “So if you live in Colorado and you play for the Broncos, and you test positive, you will be punished regardless of that state having both medical and recreational programs.”
Active players face a difficult choice between medical cannabis and other medications such as opioids used to treat pain and other ailments. Cannabis use can result in escalating penalties, and even league suspension, for repeat offenders.
“It's a well known fact that NFL players experience a high degree of pain,” Monroe said. “We also see synonymous with that fact, a higher usage of opioid drugs. Our goal is really to use this as an example, to use this as the beacon to say, ‘Hey this is a population of people who are experiencing a great benefit of using this drug for their pain relief for their insomnia, for their stress, for all of these things that there are millions of people around the world that are fighting for.’”
Retired NFL players are four times more likely to use painkillers than the general population, according to 2011 research from the Washington University School of Medicine.
A 2018 study published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine found that among retired NFL players, 26% reported use of prescription opioids within the last 30 days, and of those who reported use, 12% said they used opioids other than as prescribed or opioids that were not prescribed to them.
Despite its federal prohibition and continued classification as an illegal Schedule I substance, cannabis has been legalized for medical use by 33 states and the District of Columbia, and is recognized as effective in treating chronic pain, seizures, severe muscle spasms, and other conditions.
Link: finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-weed-policy-doctors-for-cannabis-regulation-120816650.html
... and neither is this Chris guy.