NFL’s issues with head trauma have been a widely discussed topic, with studies that date back to 1997 linking professional football players with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
A recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association proved that the problem is extremely pervasive, finding evidence of CTE in 110 out of 111 football players that were analyzed. Currently, it seems like playing football comes with a side of head trauma and concussions.
Negative press and media coverage have forced the NFL to look for an answer and to find a fast way to protect their players, and it seems like cannabis might be one of the resources their planning on exploiting.
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Dr. William Korinek believes that a pill for treating concussions could appear on the market by 2025. According to Green Rush Daily, Dr. Korinek is trying to create a medication that’ll treat concussions that occurred within the half hour. Other researchers aren’t as optimistic, and believe that it’ll take at least a decade to produce a viable medication.
For the cannabis side of things, The University of Miami was given a $16 million grant to conduct research on CBD and to see how it could treat head injuries and concussions. They’re also looking into the development of goggles that could rapidly diagnose concussions, something that’s still very hard to do. These researchers believe that the development of the goggles and the medication are equally important, both needing each other for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
The study is planned to last five years, where doctors will be studying the combined effects of CBD and an NMDA antagonist. This combination is expected to reduce headaches, brain cell inflammation, pain, and other symptoms related to concussions.
