On the heels of two more states where NFL teams are housed, California and Massachusetts, approving marijuana for recreational use, it seems that there’s a growing consensus around the league that players should be able to use the drug as an alternative for painkillers.
It was reported on Wednesday that the NFLPA will conduct studies to see if marijuana itself is a viable alternative for players to use instead of painkillers. It’s the first time that the union has publicly talked about the possibility (more on that here).
It now looks like some owners might be falling in line here.
“Several NFL owners said privately that they would support a more open approach to the use of marijuana as a means of pain management for players,” Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reported Thursday. “
The idea here, at least according to Cole, is that marijuana could be used as an alternative to more harmful painkillers. This is something that’s come to the forefront in recent years around the NFL, especially when the league itself is falling behind the broader American society when it comes to the perception of marijuana use.
Tuesday’s election results brings the number of teams playing in states where marijuana is legal for recreational use to seven. That’s nearly one quarter of the league.
This can cause somewhat of a double standard between the use of the drug for the general population and the players on a quarter of the league’s teams.
Of course, any change in the NFL’s substance abuse policy would have to be brought forth under the guise of the collective bargaining agreement. It’s in this that owners showing themselves to be more open could be a huge step in the right direction.