Marijuana and the NFL again

A much better article in The Nation than the one after election day in USA Today. Dave Zirin: THe NFL’s Coming Conflict on Cannabis, which he notes the dysfunctional NFL policies.

In the bizarre macho ethos of the NFL, alcoholism is ignored, pain killer abuse is encouraged and other violent, off-field behavior is winked at because these are byproducts of the kind of destructive masculinity that the NFL markets every Sunday. Marijuana, in contrast, is for hippies, beatniks and long-hairs.

In reality, weed wouldn’t turn NFL players into extras from Half-Baked. Players will use marijuana either to wind down after a game, as a healthier, less addictive alternative to alcohol, or as a way to manage their pain. This last point is particularly explosive for the NFL. Amidst lawsuits, suicides and documentaries, there is unprecedented attention being paid to the physical toll players have to endure, particularly concussion and brain injury. Medical marijuana is recommended by doctors for headaches, light-sensitivity, sleeplessness and loss of appetite—all of which happen to be symptoms associated with concussions. The idea that the league would deny a player their legal pain relief of choice seems barbaric. It’s their pain and their right to treat it however they see fit.

I think this article has it right. Quietly, marijuana will eventually ease off the NFL banned list as more states legalize.

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33 Responses to Marijuana and the NFL again

  1. divadab says:

    Pro athletes know you sleep better and wake up feeling better if you relax with cannabis after a hard game than drinking alcohol, whose toxins create hangovers and other bad effects. And heck, pro basketball wouldn’t exist in its current form without pot.

    The major leagues have to deal with a toxic legal environment, however, and its corrupt enforcers. But all this will pass and the rule of common sense return.

    • claygooding says:

      Not to mention the muscle strain and spasms relief,,I can eat a marijuana cookie appx every other day and I don’t wake up with charlie horses in my calves that stand you straight up out of bed just to get some weight on your toes to push the heel down on the floor.

  2. Rookie says:

    I suffer from Gout, Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, and various Muscle tearing issues. I believe if legal and available there are better choices for relief than what my doctors currently prescribe. However living in Florida I have no options. Possibly someday I will be able to find out?

    • claygooding says:

      Rookie,,street pot is better than nothing,,and eating it seems to work better on muscle spasms and cramps,for me anyway.

      Recipes for eating marijuana are available at nearly every pot site.

    • divadab says:

      grow yer own medicine. very discreetly. make sure you have smell control. then you know what the plant was fed and what pest control was used (preferably none!). You can go all organic pretty cheaply and with a t5 or led setup, low power usage.

  3. Deep Dish says:

    What message is the NFL sending to our young precious adorable impressionable children when one out of every five NFL players are arrested for felonies?

    http://www.stat.duke.edu/~dalene/chance/chanceweb/123.nflviol.pdf

  4. “Researchers at the National Institute for Mental Health found that THC, the chief psychoactive compound in marijuana, and cannabidiol (CBD), a nonpsychoactive component that previously showed promise as an anti-convulsant, both appear to be potent antioxidants in laboratory studies. Doctors rely on antioxidants to protect stroke victims from exposure to toxic levels of a brain chemical called glutamate. Head trauma and strokes cause the release of excessive glutamate, often resulting in irreversible damage to brain cells.
    Scientists asserted that CBD could hold advantages over other antioxidants because the compound is fast acting and nontoxic. “We have something that passes the brain barrier easily, has low toxicity, and appears to be working in animal trials,” lead researcher Aidan Hampson said. “I think we have a good chance” to help patients with this compound.”

    It sounds like a treatment for football and its players. I agree with you , Pete, but I hope it is sooner for the sake of the players and their own health and safety.

  5. allan says:

    OT but really well done piece:

    Legal drugs, safer streets: James Varney

    man oh man… the choir just gets louder and louder…

  6. n.t. greene says:

    Tell me again how the stoner sterotype equals performance enhancing drug?

    I think if they could smoke weed, there might be fewer off field violent felonies. What a PR nightmare that would be.

  7. claygooding says:

    If NBC Can See the Need for Medical Marijuana, Why Can’t Obama?

    http://tinyurl.com/cop8969

    “”In the episode “One More Weekend with You,” aired November 20, Kristina Braverman’s character, played by Monica Potter, tries to stay strong for her family, but becomes violently ill after receiving chemotherapy. Her husband Adam, played by Peter Krause, finds her on the bathroom floor and panics. He cleans her up and then packs all the kids into the car to visit his musician-producer brother, the first person he could think of who might have marijuana. His brother produces some from his sock drawer and warns that it was not the same pot from when they were kids, it was “genetically engineered” (a common misunderstanding of the decades of modern breeding of the plant for human consumption).”” ‘snip’

    Because Obama and congress have their ears plugged with corporate election funds,,the most effective ear plugs made.

  8. stlgonzo says:

    OT:

    U.S. Drug Czar on Legal Pot in Colorado and Washington: It’s “very clear that federal law will continue to be enforced”

    http://reason.com/blog/2012/11/30/us-drug-czar-on-legal-pot-in-colorado-an

    • darkcycle says:

      He’s basically saying the same nothing we’ve heard so far. The quote from Hillary is the real tell. They are as confused about their next move as we are.

      • claygooding says:

        He can enforce federal laws all he wants,,it’s convictions that he will have problems with,,

      • Duncan20903 says:

        .
        .

        I agree DC. I think the possibility of re-legalization winning the day never even crossed their defective minds until a number of days subsequent to Election Day. I’m uncertain if they’ve actually even figured it out by this late date.

    • Matthew Meyer says:

      Yeah, and at the same time it’s “wait and see” what the DOJ decides…what is there to decide? Federal law is so clear…

      • divadab says:

        But federal law is already enforced so selectively and inconsistently. Most of the high-profile prosecutions appear to be public examples for symbolic reasons rather than any attempt to enforce a reasonable law reasonably consistently.
        Consider: Tommy Chong – a self-supporting family business entrapped into a ridiculous prosecution (for selling bongs! I mean, really, how just plumb retarded), and put out of business. Even worse, Tommy was put in jail for nine months and made an expense of taxpayer money.

        Stupid and wrong on so many levels. It puts the government into disrepute and creates disrespect for both the law in general and for the government. But that is the consequence of a prohibition born in corruption and constitutional abuse and enforced as a method of control of “undesirable elements”. That it makes criminals of almost all of the Founders of our Republic exposes what this prohibition law is really about. It’s un-American. It’s a crime against the Republic and its Constitution and its Founders and its Citizens.

    • claygooding says:

      He was “surprised” that WA would vote on marijuana legalization when it was funded by out-of-state interests,,,hmmm,,I guess all the monies invested in anti-legalization efforts paid for by him didn’t count as out-of-state because he once lived there.

  9. 10-Year-Old Girl Marijuana Arrest: Handcuffed at Elementary School, Expelled

    http://tinyurl.com/chn93q3

    OT- I hope this is not sport.

  10. allan says:

    I just noticed that my photo host site has free shipping until 7pm (PST), which is an hour and a half…

    I really like the cannabis calendar I produced this year, a fine pic of Jack Herer on the cover and 12 months of ripe, beautifully photographed budlies inside…

    Allan’s High Hopes 2013 calendar

    Use coupon code SHIP2US

    I knocked $5 off the price too!

  11. Jim Jeppson says:

    Aannndd… anybody wanna bet that Pete’s gone for the weekend?

    • allan says:

      well he left 1/2 a really good pizza in the fridge!

      and free shipping goes ’til 9, not 7…

    • Pete says:

      You nailed it. Enjoy the pizza.

      • allan says:

        btw… the folks at HHFarm are good, told me to share w/ another worthy enterprise. So there ya have it… 1/2 the profits from the 2013 calendar I’ll donate to DWR so we can see about gettin’ the couch cleaned.

        • darkcycle says:

          There. I got mine ordered and I shared it on facebook. I hope you got all the days and months included in their proper order.

        • darkcycle says:

          Uh, I didn’t get the coupon code in there Allan…Not wanting any discount, but that money will make it into the couch fund anyway, right? (this spot is kinda sticky).

        • allan says:

          thanking you… and no, I don’t get the shipping fees. And yes, that sticky spot… I wonder if they make virtual ScotchGuard®?

  12. darkcycle says:

    The enemy make themselves known: http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2012/11/30/20-colorado-business-groups-want.html?page=all
    These businesses and trade folks are asking for a boycott. Waddya say?

    • allan says:

      wanna bet they’re all pee testing advocates? (and hypocrites)

    • claygooding says:

      The problem is the “pee” tests allan,where will they get marijuana free workers in businesses that cannot abandon drug testing because of federal rules?

      I say boycott the federal government until they give up,,any which way you can.

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