Former player Nate Jackson calls for NFL to allow marijuana
The Denver Broncos former tight end Nate Jackson announced he is convinced the NFL will have no other decision but to take off cannabis from its lists of banned substances in the short future.A contributing voice at a cannabis business
meeting, Jackson called on the league to allow medical cannabis as a way to aid players that deal with the physical and psychological suffering or head trauma related to their occupation. Jackson stated he does not take opiate painkillers the
way he could during his career from 2003-08. He rather self-medicate with cannabis so that he would not retire addicted to prescription medicine like most of his colleague, Jackson stated.
“It kept my brain clean,” Jackson said Wednesday during the Cannabis Business Executives Breakfast that kicked off a three-day conference titled “Sports, Meds and Money.”
“I feel like I exited the game with my mind intact. And I credit that to marijuana in a lot of ways and not getting hooked on these pain pills that are recklessly distributed in the league when a guy gets an injury,” Jackson anounced.
He stated it is his belief the majority of NFL players use pot — players are only tested for illicit drugs once a year while random screenings for steroids are run all year — and that the NFL is aware of current events.
“They’re aware that probably over half of their players smoke weed. They’ve been doing it since they were teenagers. The fact that they’ve been doing it that whole time and still made it to the NFL and are able to satisfy the demands of very, very strict employers on a daily basis means that their marijuana use is in check,” Jackson said. “Marijuana is not a problem in their lives.”
The true issue is that they are “smashing their skulls over and over and over again,” he stated. “And as long as we as fans or the media love this game and want this game to continue and want our players to play hard, we have to open up our minds and be a little bit more compassionate about how we approach their health care.”
That’s why Jackson said he is under the impression the NFL, pressured by a domestic abuse battle in the previous year, is “going to get behind this movement” to de-stigmatize the ability to utilize cannabis and allow the league to use it without consequence.
“One, it’s a good public relations move for the NFL to do this because they have a lot of former players who are hurting, who have a lot of cognitive issues, who have orthopedic issues, who have psychological problems and it seems that marijuana helps with all of these things,” Jackson said. “So, the NFL has taken some PR hits in the last year over a few things, and I think they’ll be eager to get behind something like this.”
League spokesman Greg Aiello announced to the The Associated Press on Wednesday: “At this time, the medical advisers to our drug program tell us that there is no need for medical marijuana to be prescribed to an NFL player.”
When the people of Colorado and Washington voted to allow recreational marijuana the players union sent out a memo to remind all players that “it’s illegal and prohibited under our policy.”
The league said it’s used “experts on substance abuse disorders and addiction and we ask them to make recommendations and to date they haven’t recommended any change.” It also stated there’s “other medications doctors can use for effective treatment of pain.”
In conclusion, the NFL anounced that “if the science shows it and there is a rigorous process in place to determine that the only drug that could help is medical marijuana, then we would consider allowing it in necessary cases.”
“That’s the most promising of those bullet points for sure,” Jackson announced later his keynote address and panel discussion.
“I don’t ever think the league will come out with like a marijuana banner. They’re never going to say, ‘Hey, marijuana, it’s great for everyone!’ But I think what they will do is remove it from the banned substances list and stop punishing people for it,” Jackson stated. “It actually keeps it in the news more when it is a banned substance than if it weren’t.
“Josh Gordon’s in the news for weed. These other guys are in the news for weed. That wouldn’t happen anymore.”
Jackson stated he absolutely did not used pot prior to game time or practices and knows of no individual who has. How ever, he stated it aided him to recover afterward and it didn’t adversely affect his performance. In fact, he said, it helped him hone his craft because he would visualize successful play while high “and that carried over to when I was sober.”
“I consider it a performance-inspiring drug,” Jackson stated.
He announced he could understand how it could aid runners, bicyclists, golfers and various athletes who are not getting bombarded by 11 defenders.
“Michael Phelps is the best swimmer that the Earth has ever produced by far. And he smokes weed,” Jackson anounced. “That should tell us something.”
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