Former Florida Marlins Reliever Ryan Tucker Enters Cannabis Business

Former Florida Marlins Reliever Ryan Tucker has announced his plans to open a medical cannabis dispensary in Cathedral City and a greenhouse cultivation facility in Desert Hot Springs. As a consumer himself, Tucker mentions that many of baseball’s finest consume cannabis “openly.”

Over his career, Tucker played for the Texas Rangers and signed into a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, four surgeries later, Tucker was only 26 years old and left with little options. A torn labrum in his shoulder and a torn torn quad in his knee prevented him from playing on the field. Fortunately, cannabis provided some real relief that he couldn’t obtain with painkillers. As part of his new treatment plan, Tucker turned to THC and CBD for relief, even though the Major League Baseball’s drug policy prohibits “natural cannabinoids (e.g., THC, hashish and marijuana) and synthetic THC and cannabimimetics (e.g., K2 and Spice).”

Tucker recalls other players in the minor league as well as the Major League consuming cannabis. “I got into the cannabis industry because it saved my life,” Tucker said. “I remember asking myself, ‘Is this my future?’ And four or five years ago might have been a bit early to want to try this. But it went okay and I learned a lot, quick. I threw myself into the growing business and that transitioned into dispensaries.”

Other current MLB players have not been so lucky when it comes to playing as a cannabis consumer. Milwaukee Brewers minor league pitcher Phil Bickford tested positive for cannabis before being drafted in 2015. As one of the top 200 prospects, Bickford was subject to MLB rules which includes pre-draft testing. As his second violation, Bickford is now subject to a 50-game suspension beginning in the 2017 season. St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Alex Reyes received the same 50-game suspension after a second positive test for cannabis. Although Major League Baseball has one of the most relaxed attitudes toward cannabis, minor league players undergo harsher penalties. According to Tucker, cannabis is one of Major League Baseball’s “best-kept secrets.”