A few days ago I wrote about whether NFL players can smoke weed, the current NFL drug policy and current punishments which you can check here. Today I'll be exploring whether NFL players do smoke weed.
According to former tight end Martellus Bennett, about 89% of NFL players smoke weed. Judging off Bennett’s calculations, that means most NFL players smoke weed. Former running back Ricky Williams is a prime example of NFL players who faced lengthy suspensions due to a failed drug test from marijuana use.
Wide receiver Josh Gordon is another on the list of NFL players that smoke weed. Gordon began failing drug tests in college and has been suspended for a large part of his career. Other NFL players that smoke weed presently or in the past are David Irving - who quit football instead of accepting a suspension - Laremy Tunsil, Randy Moss, Martavis Bryant, Von Miller, Percy Harvin, and Eben Britton. Britton even admitted that he’d smoke weed before playing games: “NFL games I played stoned were some of the best games I ever played".
Smoking weed is an unconventional way to help football players to relieve the physical and mental strains associated with the physicality of football. Former Dolphins running back Ricky Williams is a potent advocate for weed. Williams spent a lot of his time in the NFL on the substance abuse program. Nowadays you’ll find Williams advocating the benefits of medicinal marijuana. Williams has even opened his own cannabis based product line called Real Wellness. His business began selling products in select California marijuana dispensaries.
Williams strongly supports NFL players who smoke weed, believing weed should be fully legalized as a means of pain management, pointing to the dangerous and widespread use of opioids.
"It's easier on your liver. It doesn't cut your awareness off from your body, the way most pain medications do. It actually increases awareness of the body.", Ricky Williams has said.
Opioid use according to a Washington University School of Medicine study is out of control. It found 52% of 644 NFL players in 2011 had said they had used prescribed opioids during their playing career. Out of those, 71% stated they misused their prescribed drugs.
Following the 2019 death of LA Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs following an accidental drug overdose from a cocktail of opioids, oxycodone and fentanyl, the MLB changed its drug policy removing marijuana from the banned list and treating it like it does with alcohol. Mandatory testing was added to the policy for cocaine and opioids. Former superstar Calvin 'Megatron' Johnson admitted that he “smoked pot after every game” in order to avoid the deadly opiates that the league prescribes to treat pain.
Thankfully the NFL has loosened it's policy on smoking weed under the NBA. It remains to be seen how the league will mandate treatment plans under the intervention program and whether these will involve products containing cannabidiol (CBD).
CBD is one of the many chemical compounds of marijuana and the most popularly used for pain remediation. Many NFL players and athletes view marijuana as a safer medicine for treating or alleviating pain when compared to opioids and prescription drugs.
I started my sports blog Wolfgang Sport in 2017 as a way to connect my passion for American and British sports. Today it's evolved into a blockchain sports blog pushing the boundaries into the crypto world and embracing Web3 technologies.
