Cannabis in Professional Sports

For years, Americans have been claiming that Marx got it wrong; religion is not the opiate of the masses, sports is. According to a recent Gallop poll, about 59 percent of Americans are sports fans. The U.S. defines a great deal of our lives by what sport is in season, and hobbyists and enthusiasts are fanatic about favorite teams. So, it is no surprise that during the drug war days, many good athletes made public statements against cannabis use. After all, they served as role models for children and represent the face of America.

However, the reality of life as a professional athlete is not the all-American fairytale people tell little boys and girls. Activities like professional wrestling and football take a serious toll on the body and can result in major and long-term injury. For this reason, many pro-athletes have gotten hooked on prescription painkillers, which can be dangerous and fatal. Not to mention, the sponsorship of many major sports by beer companies who know that their target demographic loves to crack a cold one and watch the game creates a hypocritical double-standard.

For these reasons, athletes are starting to be more vocal about their cannabis use. However, the lingering negative stigma of cannabis has still been a hard one to shake in the world of professional sports.

“People like myself don’t just believe in cannabis because we think it’s cool; people like myself believe in cannabis because there have already been so many proven stories that have changed people’s lives.”

Recently, former NFL player Nate Jackson of the Broncos spoke out in favor of cannabis reform. Jackson claimed that about 50-60 percent of NFL players use cannabis, and he explained that it helped keep him off of opiates and other highly addictive drugs when dealing with recovery from injuries. He appeared on the cover of CULTURE in 2014, and talked openly about his support of cannabis as medicine.

CULTURE also caught up with former San Diego Charger and San Francisco 49er Marques Harris to get his perspective as an ex-NFL-star-turned-cannabis-activist. Harris feels so strongly about the benefits of cannabis for athletes that he has started his own non-profit.

“I believe cannabis and CBD oil have a huge future in all sports,” he told us. “People like myself don’t just believe in cannabis because we think it’s cool; people like myself believe in cannabis because there have already been so many proven stories that have changed people’s lives.”

It appears cannabis could provide a healthy alternative to the use of prescription drugs. However, the NFL still refuses to endorse cannabis or prescribe it as a medical treatment, despite how many players have come out and said that it helps them.

Similarly, this kind of denial of a problem and of cannabis as a solution is going on with the MMA. Because fighters sustain so many injuries, it is often necessary to turn to an alternative medicine source like cannabis to treat chronic pain and avoid turning to addictive pills instead. According to MMA Mania, Joe Rogan explained that most MMA players are choosing to use cannabis as an alternative.

“A tremendous amount of UFC fighters smoke pot,” he explained to MMA Mania. “I mean, a massive amount where it’s a huge issue with them involving drug tests, you know, where they have to stop smoking weed for the last four weeks or so in order to pass drug tests.”

While these UFC-mandated drug tests are meant to catch those using steroids, they do not make any allowances for using cannabis, and those who are caught with the substance in their systems are still subject to suspension and being treated like drug addicts and criminals. Many other professional sports also prohibit the use of cannabis, although the standards are not as strict.

In the world of American golf, the PGA’s Anti-Doping Policy considers cannabinoids to be a recreational drug. Although cannabis is not considered to be performance-enhancing, the Tour does hold players who test positive accountable but do not publicly disclose cannabis-related violations. However, the Tour only tests for a certain threshold of cannabis in a player’s system, which discourages use during competition, but not necessarily the use of cannabis many weeks prior.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and The National Basketball Association (NBA) may have the most reasonable policies regarding the use of cannabis by their players.

NBA lists cannabis as one of its “Drugs of Abuse,” however the penalties for cannabis compared to other listed drugs were more relaxed. While a player who tests positive for a “Drug of Abuse” could be dismissed and disqualified from the NBA, players who test positive for cannabis the first time are subjected to enter a Marijuana Program. Players won’t receive a five-game suspension until they test positive for cannabis a third time.

The MLB’s Joint Drug Agreement (JDA) may list THC, hashish and cannabis as “Drugs of Abuse,” however the JDA also gives special treatment to cannabis. Under Section 7.D of the JDA, players will face a 15-25 game suspension for their first violation of drug abuse, however if a player is tests positive for cannabis, they will instead be placed in the MLB’s drug treatment program. The same can’t be said for the minor leagues, which are still notorious for suspending players who test positive for cannabis.

While the rest of the U.S. continues to move towards legalization and acceptance of cannabis, the world of professional sports lags a bit behind, just like the states that refuse to get with the times and at least consider a medical or decriminalization program. However, as professional athletes become more and more vocal about their cannabis use, this issue is going to get harder and harder to ignore.