According to multiple sources, the NFL has approached the NFL Players Association to work together on studying marijuana’s efficacy against player’s aches, pains and stress. This is a major step, as marijuana is met with punitive measures in the NFL at this point.
The Players Association has put together its own study and is still in deliberation as to the NFL’s willingness to go along with cannabis research. The outlook, however, is high.
According to an anonymous source via the Washington Post, the NFL had written a letter to the union to weigh the level of interest in working together on this particular research. The letter pointed to potential areas of study, such as chronic and acute pain management. The union’s pain management committee is actually a subcommittee of the Players Association’s Mackey-White traumatic brain injury committee.
Equally encouraging, the union has expressed interest in revisiting recreational marijuana use as well for a pain management tool. The union considers these separate issues, but is willing to address them both with a seemingly open minded point of view. At the very least, the league is looking to lessen punitive measures for those who test positive for the plant.
Quandaries being considered are how to address addiction issues, how to approach those using pot purely for pleasure and those using the herb for medical purposes, including mental stress. The board hopes to present new conclusions “soon.”
In the meantime, the union has not yet let up on the punitive measures. Part of the reason is because the league hopes to bundle these issues into a collective bargaining agreement, which currently runs through 2020.
Medical cannabis has been shown time and again to relieve pain, tension, stress, mental fatigue and stiff muscles. Players and fans alike can only root for the study to come up with the same results and grant players the freedom to medicate and feel better.
