New policy will change pot discipline
By Dan Graziano | ESPN.com
It would be too late to help Josh Gordon, Will Hill or anyone else in danger of a lengthy suspension for violations of current rules. But when and if the NFL's new drug policy is finalized and announced, it will include changes specific to marijuana and other drugs of abuse.
A source told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the renegotiation of the drug policy, which has been going on since 2011 and includes testing for human growth hormone, also will significantly increase the threshold for a positive marijuana test and reduce the punishments for violations involving that drug.
The source said the NFL's policy on marijuana is outdated, pointing out that the World Anti-Doping Agency has a higher threshold for a positive test than the NFL currently does.
The NFL Players Association has expressed to the league an interest in studying the medical research that has led to the legalization of marijuana in many states for medicinal use, but it believes changes are needed in the meantime regardless.
What is holding up the implementation and announcement of changes to the league's drug policy is a continued standoff over arbitration of discipline. In cases of nonanalytical positives (i.e., an Alex Rodriguez-type case in which a player is found to be in violation of the drug policy by some method other than a failed test) or in cases of violations of law (i.e., a player getting caught trying to smuggle prescription drugs across the Canadian border), the NFLPA has asked that discipline appeals be heard by an independent arbitrator.
The NFL has continued to insist that the commissioner have final say over discipline matters.
It's the same hang-up that was addressed last week by union president Eric Winston, who said of commissioner Roger Goodell on the issue of HGH testing, "He wants to hold all the cards and he wants to be the judge, jury and executioner, and we're not going to go for an un-American system like that."
In response to the union's claims, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello emailed the following to ESPN last week: "It's kind of funny because since 2011 the union has come up with one excuse after another to avoid implementing an agreement to test for HGH. First, it was the testing method; then it was the population study; now it's commissioner authority. Our commitment to testing is clear. The same cannot be said of the union."
The dispute over arbitration, it turns out, is holding up more than just HGH testing. There are widespread changes to the NFL's drug policy that these two sides have negotiated and are waiting to implement once they can reach agreement on the administration of discipline.
Source: League, union haven’t agreed to relaxed marijuana rules
Posted by Mike Florio on May 15, 2014
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Earlier this week, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reported that the NFL and NFLPA have
agreed to adjust the rules regarding marijuana, pending an agreement regarding HGH testing.
Per a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations, the report is inaccurate.
The source explained that increased marijuana concentrations and/or decreased marijuana discipline have never been formally proposed by either side. The possibility was mentioned only once during the discussions, and it is not part of the tentative agreement that hinges on the league and the union finalizing HGH testing.
“It’s not in there,” the source said regarding the information relating to changes to the marijuana rules.
That said, the current proposal
does include the ability of the medical experts who run the substance-abuse program to adjust the time period that a player spends in the program. Rather than relying on a specific duration (such as two years or, for a player in Stage 3, the rest of his career), the player could be removed from the program if/when a clinical determination is made that the oversight no longer is needed.
In theory, the current proposal could be modified to include, for example, an increase in the concentration for marijuana or a decrease in the penalties. For now, though, the tentative deal does not include either of those things.
It’s possible that the NFLPA was simply floating the potential adjustment to the marijuana rules as a trial balloon to the media. The better approach could be to simply make the proposal to the league.
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