Weed and Sports: Is There Room for Marijuana?

Sports and weed have had a rocky relationship and the two together have had their fair share of controversy.

Players have been suspended, sacked or even banned for life for smoking some of the herbal stuff. But has sports been unfairly harsh on player.

Former NFL tight end Martellus Bennett stated on a Bleacher Report podcast that 89% of NFL players smoke weed and former NBA player Kenyon Martin who spent 15 seasons in the NBA estimates as high as 85% of players use cannabis.

According to a study of 644 NFL players in 2011 by the Washington University School of Medicine, 52% of respondents said they used prescribed opioids during their playing career. Of those 336 players 71% said they misused their prescribed drugs who use weed? So many players are doing it anyway. Is there room for weed in sport?

There’s been a push to allow the use of weed as a sensible alternative to prescription drugs which are often addictive. Some sports stars are already smoking weed to manage pain, anxiety and insomnia.

Former running back Ricky Williams spent a lot of his time in the NFL on the substance abuse program and was suspended multiple times. Williams now aged in his 40’s is outspoken on the benefits of medicinal weed and has even opened his own cannabis based product line.

A Heisman Trophy winner in 1998, Williams spent 12 years in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl in 2002. He also led the league in rushing yards, set the Miami Dolphins single season rushing yards record and touchdowns scored in a single season record.

Ricky Williams forged a successful career rushing for 10 000+ yards and 66 touchdowns. During his career he was suspended a total of five times for testing positive to weed including missing out on the entire 2006 season.

Williams was lucky enough to forge a successful but at times interrupted NFL career. Its not always a happy ending however. Rashaan Salaam, Ex-Cleveland Brown running back won the Heisman Trophy four years before Williams did.

After a record setting rookie season rushing for 1000+ yards his career stalled due to self described immaturity, depression and a marijuana habit that eventually took its toll.
Rashaan Salaam ran a total of 608 yards in his second and third seasons in the NFL.

In 31 total games with the Chicago Bears, he fumbled the ball 14 times. Salaam played two more games in the NFL in 1999 both with the Cleveland Browns before a failed return in 2002. Salaam died on December 5th 2016.

Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon began failing drug tests in college even before he was drafted into the NFL. He was suspended in 2013 for two games, ten games in 2014 and the entire 2015 season.

Gordon’s career continues to be interrupted due to violating the substance abuse policy and has only since resumed playing in the 2018 season for the New England Patriots.

Josh Gordon was selected in the 2nd round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He has received 3800+ receiving yards and scored 19 touchdowns.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant was suspended for the entire 2016 season for NFL’s substance abuse policy violations.

He was conditionally reinstated in 2018 where he joined the Oakland Raiders in 2018. In December 2018 Bryant was suspended indefinitely for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement.

Martavis Bryant was selected in the 4th round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has received 2000+ receiving yards and scored 17 touchdowns.

The continued suspensions of Gordon and Bryant show that the NFL has no tolerance for weed. Their talents are undeniable however they’re not reaching their full potential as they’re losing game time which includes sitting out entire seasons.

The NFL came under heavy fire in 2015 when it banned Josh Gordon for an entire season for a substance abuse violation. In the same season the Baltimore Raven’s Ray Rice received only a two game suspension for knocking his wife out in a drunken rage.

Initial public outrage over the punishments eventually forced the league to reduce and extend the suspensions however the initial response shows the general stance the league has on weed.

The stance on weed in sports and in particularly the NFL seems extremely harsh when you consider that it’s a performance reducing drug. It’s not a performance enhancer when you compare it to the likes of steroids.

Smoking weed is controversial. Sports stars smoking weed hits another level. It is increasingly being seen as an unconventional way to relieve the physical and mental pains associated with sport. Weather its for recreational or medicinal use it’s seems weed is popular among players.

In the interest of player welfare a greater understand is needed and more research required into the effects of weed on physical and mental pain management.

The toll of sports on the bodies of athletes leads to players being prescribed dangerously addictive opioids and any alternative that is less harmful should be seriously considered.

On the other hand our players serve as role models to the community. Players continue to be trend setters and any introduction of weed use needs to be considered carefully. Allowing it could set dangerous precedence if sporting idols were widely known to be smoking weed.

Weed effects people differently which can lead to different results. Take the careers of Salaam and Williams as examples. Salaam’s self described career spiral was as a result of weed. Williams was able to manage a football career with an off the field weed obsession.

Weed isn’t going anywhere nor is sport. Many states and countries are softening their stance on weed with personal use becoming legal. As weed starts knocking on the door of the mainstream it’s starting to become a real question whether it be allowed in sport.