NFL Hopes to Remove Cannabis Ban in Next Collective Bargaining Agreement
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]N[/dropcap]FL officials are preparing to make changes to its substance abuse policy in its next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the labor agreement of collective bargaining negotiations between the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).
The details of the changes are currently unknown, but a complete abandonment of cannabis is possible, but the league would need to have a plan in place for players who are criminally charged with cannabis-related offenses in states where recreational cannabis isn’t legal.
“A delicate balance may be required. If the law of the land becomes ‘smoke at will as long as you’re in a weed-legal state,’ plenty of free agents will flock to teams in states where it’s legal. So maybe the best approach would be to simply dump marijuana from the list of banned recreational drugs, and move on,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote.
Countless NFL players have called for reform of the league’s substance abuse policy. Former NFL player and CULTURE cover Eben Britton has been an outspoken critic of the way the NFL handles pain and injuries, opting to give out handfuls of various opiates instead of looking for other alternatives.
Players like Josh Gordon, Randy Gregory and David Irving have all been suspended indefinitely for positive cannabis tests. Irving recently went on Instagram Live to announce he was quitting the NFL because of his suspension. Kareem Hunt was seen on video pushing and kicking a woman and, although he wasn’t arrested or charged for the incident, signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns.
The current CBA is set to expire in 2021 and players have already discussed the possibility of a lockout before a new agreement is put in place. Instead of using cannabis as a negotiation tactic, perhaps the NFL can attempt to get on the NFLPA’s good side by deciding not to punish positive cannabis tests as severely, if at all.
