Many people know that there is a huge issue with concussions in the NFL. They also know how doctors feel about it and obviously the government. However, how do football players actually feel about it? Well, retired Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon smoked cannabis before it was even legalized.
“[Former Bears coach] Mike Ditka would say, ‘Oh, all you guys, you pot smokers,’ That’s what he’d call us. ‘You pot smokers.’ ” McMahon stated. “We’d say, ‘It’s better than being drunk out here. We’re still functioning.’ ”
However, it was not till McMahon moved to Arizona almost a decade ago that he began to realize how cannabis helped him handle his pains as a retired NFL player. Moreover, the effects that continuous concussions may have on the body. McMahon, aged 56 and known for leading the Bears three decades ago to winning the Super Bowl, spoke at a “Cannabis and Athletics” panel on Sunday at the Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
“I have arthritis pretty much in all my joints,” 15-year NFL player McMahon reported to the Star-Telegram. “My head problems have been pretty severe at times. [Marijuana] makes all that pain go away. I just forget about the pain.”
Retired NFL players Ricky Williams (an ex-Texas Longhorn) and Marvin Washington also took part in the hour-long talk. Washington is a native of Dallas and is also a partner with the medical cannabis company HempMeds. In addition, they also recently announced that they are going to be launching a cannabis product that will not be a violation of drug tests. It will have cannabidiol (CBD), but not tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
“We want to get the athletes on a plant-based product, instead of getting on the opioids and pharmaceuticals,” Washington stated. “There’re two main chemicals in the marijuana plant: One is psychotropic, and that’s THC, which our product has nothing. The other is CBD, which has been shown to have medicinal benefits.”
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