NFL Agrees to Study Marijuana as Pain Killer

After resisting the trend for several years, the National Football League has decided to lend its support to a study looking at marijuana for pain management.

According to the Washington Post, the NFL sent the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) a letter, offering to work with the union to study the use of pot as a pain management treatment.

Until now, the NFL has refused to bend to the will of many players and ex-players who have pushed the league to accept pot as a painkiller. As recently as April Commissioner Roger Goodell was still publicly calling pot “addictive” and “unhealthy,” Pro Football Talk reported.

Goodell also said at the time that he believed pot is bad for players’ health, especially when smoked. “Listen, you’re ingesting smoke, so that’s not usually a very positive thing that people would say,” he said.

Now, it seems the league has completely changed their tune.

“We look forward to working with the Players Association on all issues involving the health and safety of our players,” Joe Lockhart, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, told the media.

At the urging of a growing list of players, the NFLPA has aggressively advocated for the use of pot as a pain manager.

“I do think that issues of addressing it more in a treatment and less punitive measure is appropriate,” NFLPA executive director DeMaurice 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.”

The path forward on a cooperative review of pot use for pain management will not begin until the two parties hammer out the details in a collective bargaining process. Though, this is the first time both parties have agreed to begin the process of even considering the topic.

The league has already pulled back on punishment for pot use, specifically by having modifying its drug policy in 2014 to allow for a higher level of THC in players’ blood in drug tests. THC is the active chemical in marijuana.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.