NFL, NFLPA To Look Into Studying Marijuana As A Form Of Pain Relief For Players

There are so many uses for marijuana, and the NFL is looking into its powers to heal pain, for players in the league.

The NFL reportedly is discussing a new collective bargaining agreement, and in doing so the league and NFL Players Association have agreed to form two new joint committees that will partially research marijuana as a tool to relieve players from their pain. According to the Washington Post, the agreement doesn’t totally focus on the study of marijuana but instead “a variety of pain-management issues and strategies for players.”

Marijuana is currently one of the league’s prohibited “drugs,” regardless of the fact that it has been legalized in 10 different states for those over 21. However, if strongly considered, this new movement may ignite a change in policy. Both the NFL and NFLPA will “review teams’ policies and practices for the use of prescription medication” — and other forms of pain relief — as Maske reported. “We’re asking our pain management committee to bring us any and all suggestions,” Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, told Maske. “We’ll look at marijuana.”

Several NFL players have requested marijuana be seen as a form of pain relief and medicinal use, while others have demanded players be punished more severely for using the plant. In this offseason former Dallas Cowboys lineman David Irving was suspended indefinitely for repeated violations involving the drug, and Tiki Barber and Calvin Johnson announced investments in marijuana businesses, according to CBS. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said before he would consider permitting prescribed marijuana use by players “only if that practice were to be established as valid by medical and scientific experts.”