(Poll) Should the NFL lift its ban on marijuana?

[Prime Time]

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/new...ll-ezekiel-elliott/1depxy1ni54791my63nh5nng2p

Cowboy's owner Jerry Jones suggested to his fellow owners that the NFL lift its ban on marijuana. Other owners noted that doing so could be used as a bargaining chip as the league and NFLPA negotiate their next labor deal.

Putting into context Jones’ position on marijuana and off-field investigations, PFT notes several Cowboys players — Rolando McClain, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory — have been suspended recently for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/n...ng-a-less-punitive-approach-to-marijuana-use/

NFLPA reportedly proposing a 'less punitive' approach to marijuana use
The union recently formed a pain management committee to study marijuana
by Jared Dubin

The NFL Players Association is coming up with a proposal that would amend the league's drug policy to take a less punitive approach to marijuana use. According to the Washington Post, NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith said the proposal will be presented first to the NFLPA's board of representatives, and if approved, will then be presented to the league.

"I do think that issues of addressing it more in a treatment and less punitive measure is appropriate," Smith told the Post. "I think it's important to look at whether there are addiction issues. And I think it's important to not simply assume recreation is the reason it's being used."

Marijuana is currently on the list of substances banned by the NFL and players that test positive for it are subject to fines and/or suspensions under the league's substance abuse policy. Smith noted in his interview with the Post that there are reasons other than recreation that players might use marijuana, such as pain management and depression.

"We have to do a better job of knowing if our players are suffering from other potentially dangerous psychological issues like depression, right? So if I look at this myopically as just a recreational use of marijuana and miss the fact that we might have players suffering from depression, what have I fixed?

Worse yet, you may have solved an issue that gets the steady drumbeat in a newspaper but miss an issue like chronic depression . . . where a person theoretically might be able to smoke more weed because it makes them feel better but it's not curing their depression.

"So to me, as we're looking at that front end -- and it's been a long process -- the reason why I think it's more complicated than just making a quick decision about recreational use is we look at these things as a macro-issue.

And what we try to do is what a union's supposed to do: improve the health and safety of our players in a business that sometimes can seriously exacerbate existing physical and mental issues."

When asked about the issue in November, a league spokesman issued the following statement regarding any potential changes to the NFL's policy on marijuana:

"This isn't just the NFL's policy. This is a collectively bargained policy with the NFL Players Association. The program is administered by jointly appointed independent medical advisors to the league and the NFLPA who are constantly reviewing and relying on the most current research and scientific data.

We continue to follow the advice of leading experts on treatment, pain management and other symptoms associated with concussions and other injuries. However, medical experts have not recommended making a change or revisiting our collectively-bargained policy and approach related to marijuana, and our position on its use remains consistent with federal law and workplace policies across the country. If these medical experts change their view, then this is an area that we would explore."

The NFLPA recently formed a pain management committee that is studying, among other things, the use of marijuana to manage pain and whether it should be permissible under the NFL's policies.

 

[Memento]

There's no reason why marijuana should be banned. If used for pain management, it's got to be better than things such as painkillers.

 

[rdlkgliders]

There's no reason why marijuana should be banned. If used for pain management, it's got to be better than things such as painkillers.

C'mon Now we all know pain management is B.S. I understand you may be in the minority but most use it to get stoned.
Addiction affects behavior.

 

[Memento]

C'mon Now we all know pain management is B.S. I understand you may be in the minority but most use it to get stoned.
Addiction affects behavior.

I'm actually not in the minority (I live in Missouri, where it's still banned), but granted, if I could use marijuana over painkillers, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm pretty sure that the players would as well.

It's not more addictive than painkillers and other opiods. I don't understand why the NFL doesn't choose the lesser evil.

 

[rdlkgliders]

I agree Memento, I guess I should have been more clear. Yes if used as intended it is better than most alternatives unfortunately the system has been abused.

 

[HitStick]

C'mon Now we all know pain management is B.S. I understand you may be in the minority but most use it to get stoned.
Addiction affects behavior.

Regardless of the reason for using it, it's far less dangerous than alcohol, doesn't turn people into violent idiots, is less addictive, and quite frankly, I'd feel safer driving on a freeway full of stoners than drunks. I may get where I'm going later than planned, but at least I'd make it there.

 

[rdlkgliders]

@HitStick I agree, Unfortunately it wasn't asked if we would rather have our players stoned than drunk. Frankly I do not want either. Our O.L can't block unaltered, now get them stoned and Goff is dead!

 

[Barrison]

I'd like to know who said no. You don't go and beat your wife or kill someone behind the wheel by smoking a joint. Why wouldn't you rather your players smoke a little bud then go out and get wasted, taking an unnecessary risk of getting suspended or worse hurting someone?

 

[Legatron4]

I'm so in between about weed. I think it's great for pain use. I tore my Labrum in my shoulder a few years back and they had me on Hydrocodeine. It sorta worked but made me constipated and had to take other medicine as well. I smoked a bowl and I had virtually no pain. In fact without noticing it, I played pool and realized I was doing it with a giant robot arm.

My point is, I think it should be used for strictly pain killer. And recreational is still dangerous when driving or operating any other equipment. If it didn't make you feel different, why bother with it? So short answer, allow prescriptions but keep punishments if used otherwise.

 

[…..]

The NFL should simply stop testing for it and suspending players for it. They need make no announcement for or against marijuana.

Having such varied laws in our states where the players all reside under different sets of rules is compounding the issues for me because if the home state has legalized it, then the NFL is reaching across territory it does not belong. We should continue testing for performance enhancing substances.

 

[Ram65]

The NFL should simply stop testing for it and suspending players for it. They need make no announcement for or against marijuana.

Having such varied laws in our states where the players all reside under different sets of rules is compounding the issues for me because if the home state has legalized it, then the NFL is reaching across territory it does not belong. We should continue testing for performance enhancing substances.

That a great idea to stop testing for it. It should be a bargaining chip in the CBA. Cannabis is becoming more accepted in the US. Still illegal on the Federal level but, states are making their own choices.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I only voted NO because i think the NFL has the right to regulate drug use within it's confines and i don't think a league full of openly stoned players on Sundays is all that appealing in terms of the product on the field, but the penalties associated with marijuana need to be drastically reduced.

 

[Hey Man]

I voted no from pot smoking experience. For those who have mentioned using it for a pain killer is crazy. I am not going to debate it, but I SMOKED for 20 years and it did shit for killing pain, alcohol worked till I woke up and realized it was mental pain.
These guys are professional athletes getting paid 100's and millions of dollars.
If anything give them the off season after the teams season ending game till a couple weeks before free agency to go on a binge.
I agree with the guy who mentioned driving with stoner than a drinker. Did it a million times, both.
Pain killers are a different story, take as directed. I live in pain ( 2 herniated discs ) and take tramadol, 1 a day is all my work doctor will allow. He said it's something you have to live with.
I haven't drank alcohol or smoked weed in 17 year's and can't risk my job because I needed to catch a buzz.

 

[Selassie I]

Does a chicken have a beak?

 

[Loyal]

I smoked pot intensely for a short period in HS...One thing I noticed AFTER I quit smoking it, that my memory retention had decreased significantly, but it returned after 6 months. Heavy pot smoking also made me think less clearly, again, this returned (mostly) months later.

Therefore, I am not for it in any case...I realize that my viewpoint is becoming a minority as the generations pass by...

 

[Zodi]

How is players using marijuana-- a drug with well documented anti-inflammatory properties-- any more dirty than players using Toradol after every practice, game, etc?

 

[Riverumbbq]

Personally, I don't give a good @od dam what an ADULT wants to put in their body so long as they haven't been previously diagnosed with a mental handicap. I don't believe in regulating other peoples choices by the way I choose to live and I don't want others telling me what I can do either. Whether it's the act of buying a drink at a bar, smoking marijuana or sticking a needle full of heroin in your arm, I don't care what you are doing unless you risk harming me or another. Climb in the drivers seat of an automobile while under the influence, that should be against the law, public intoxication of controlled substances should be illegal, as is alcohol, ... what goes on behind closed doors is none of my business, again, so long as no harm is done to another, or if minors aren't present. Whether it be an opium den, a brothel or in the privacy of your or a friends home, I believe all should be legal and properly regulated, creating a safe zone for the patrons who will be doing it regardless of the law anyway, and taxes can be generated where it otherwise goes to mafias, cartels and general lowlifes who often use violence to fix prices & control the marketplace in an unsafe manner. I happen to believe in something called consent, and if as an adult I consent, then I also accept the responsibility of my actions & choices.
When it comes to football, let the individual team manage marijuana use. If a player is using pot occasionally to manage pain or even recreational use on days off, fine, ... but someone lighting up in the parking lot before a game is obviously not someone who is looking out for the best interests of his team. Fine them or fire them for those reasons, not because they have a tiny residual amount of THC remaining in their blood stream from the previous week. jmo.

 

[HitStick]

@HitStick I agree, Unfortunately it wasn't asked if we would rather have our players stoned than drunk. Frankly I do not want either. Our O.L can't block unaltered, now get them stoned and Goff is dead!

They already can't see straight. Maybe if they were inebriated it might align their vision and make them good blockers!

 

[RamsFlash80]

Yep. I cant believe this is still a topic in 2017 tbh. Just like alcohol it should only be used in your own free time aka not going to work drunk and high etc. Its whatever on your own down time.