Banned, but Bountiful: Marijuana Coveted by NFL Players as Invaluable Painkiller

[GOTA]

They are both clients and customers of each other. The money flows both ways.

How much money could the NFL possibly provide a drug company? The league only has about 1,500 players. Successful drugs are measured in billions of dollars. There is no way they are worried about selling less percocet or oxycodine to NFL players because of pot.

[dreamjo]

How much money could the NFL possibly provide a drug company? The league only has about 1,500 players. Successful drugs are measured in billions of dollars. There is no way they are worried about selling less percocet or oxycodine to NFL players because of pot.

I'm not suggesting drug companies are looking for/getting money directly from the NFL. I believe they see good value in sponsorship/endorsement relationships with the league. Successful drugs are not just measured in billions of dollars, they are marketed in billions of dollars. A marketing relationship with the NFL is good marketing, and I'm sure the drug companies very much enjoy it. I believe relaxing any of the current rules regarding marijuana use in the NFL would be seen as rocking the boat, when everyone (aside from the players) is currently enjoying the ride.

[GOTA]

I'm not suggesting drug companies are looking for/getting money directly from the NFL. I believe they see good value in sponsorship/endorsement relationships with the league. Successful drugs are not just measured in billions of dollars, they are marketed in billions of dollars. A marketing relationship with the NFL is good marketing, and I'm sure the drug companies very much enjoy it. I believe relaxing any of the current rules regarding marijuana use in the NFL would be seen as rocking the boat, when everyone (aside from the players) is currently enjoying the ride.

I just don't see it. That would be like beer companies preventing the NFL from allowing whiskey commercials. The NFL will take money from Coors and Jim Beam.

You also have to look at what drugs are marketed via the NFL. Is marijuana a competitor to Viagra or Nexium? Drug companies are not allowed to advertise prescription painkillers. So how is pot use competition for the marketing dollars against a class of drugs that can't advertise?

[HoustonRaven]

I just don't see it. That would be like beer companies preventing the NFL from allowing whiskey commercials. The NFL will take money from Coors and Jim Beam.

You also have to look at what drugs are marketed via the NFL. Is marijuana a competitor to Viagra or Nexium? Drug companies are not allowed to advertise prescription painkillers. So how is pot use competition for the marketing dollars against a class of drugs that can't advertise?

:word

The entire line of reasoning smells of tin foil hat.

[Bigfish]

Growers are cultivating strains but others are making refined or synthesized pills and oils that don't contain the hundreds of chemicals and all of the over 80 cannabinoids. The argument is they can taylor the constituents to treat various conditions. The doses in pills are known to last longer and many are going through clinical trials to gain FDA approval. It'll be interesting to see how this unfolds. Smoking has it's detractors for obvious health risks. Minnesota only allows pills for now. The drug companies are a powerful lobby, I'm sure they want in on the action and have a good argument in that their product is a safer and a more effective option. And I hate them as much as anyone.

What you get either way is not your father's high with much more powerful doses of THC. The concerns are warranted over people functioning behind the wheel being that it's a psychoactive drug. And, there's many high risk jobs you wouldn't want people doing high on THC. There are however pills that use various cannabinoids that don't contain THC, so their psychoactive effects are minimal and safer for tasks involving motor function.

As far as football, THC is going to lower cognitive function and performance. I'm not convinced yet that it's the best option for pain relief for football players weighing in on lose of function. I have no problem with recreational use. Low psychoactive medications would be a better option at work but they may not be as effective.

[Shas]

(The NFL and union deny any type of secret arrangement.)

Is there any organization in the world more full of shit than the NFL? When was the last time Goodell made a public statement that was remotely believable? Every word uttered is calculated PR garbage.

Why did it take three months to investigate a simple case of air pressure in footballs? And now another three months to settle Brady's appeal? Because they are researching public opinion in order to make a decision that's least damaging to the league (with no real consideration for fairness).

Consider the fact that the NFL, one of the nation's most lucrative businesses, whose chief executive is paid $44 million per year, is a 501(c) (6) nonprofit organization? The NFL is nonprofit. Everyone realizes this, right?

Oh, wait, that's changing. They just announced they are dropping that designation and will begin filing as a for-profit. Why? To pay its fair share of taxes on profits?

Of course not. It's so they can become more secretive, no longer bound to reveal the organization's finances to the government each year--embarrassing stuff, like executive pay. (I wouldn't be surprised to learn it also affords them an advantage in defending themselves against potential head-trauma lawsuits, which threaten to swamp profitability).

Full. Of. Shit.

[HoustonRaven]

Is there any organization in the world more full of shit than the NFL? When was the last time Goodell made a public statement that was remotely believable? Every word uttered is calculated PR garbage.

Why did it take three months to investigate a simple case of air pressure in footballs? And now another three months to settle Brady's appeal? Because they are researching public opinion in order to make a decision that's least damaging to the league (with no real consideration for fairness).

Consider the fact that the NFL, one of the nation's most lucrative businesses, whose chief executive is paid $44 million per year, is a 501(c) (6) nonprofit organization? The NFL is nonprofit. Everyone realizes this, right?

Oh, wait, that's changing. They just announced they are dropping that designation and will begin filing as a for-profit. Why? To pay its fair share of taxes on profits?

Of course not. It's so they can become more secretive, no longer bound to reveal the organization's finances to the government each year--embarrassing stuff, like executive pay. (I wouldn't be surprised to learn it also affords them an advantage in defending themselves against potential head-trauma lawsuits, which threaten to swamp profitability).

Full. Of. Shit.

So why do you even watch it?

[Shas]

So why do you even watch it?

I don't watch it.

I watch football games.

"It" in this case would be the business side, the NFL office in NY, where they dole out discipline, make rules, do deals.

I love football. I hate the business of football.

They will eventually ruin the game.

[HoustonRaven]

I don't watch it.

I watch football games.

"It" in this case would be the business side, the NFL office in NY, where they dole out discipline, make rules, do deals.

I love football. I hate the business of football.

They will eventually ruin the game.

Semantics. You still consume the very product you seem to loathe. They were a not for profit and you complained. They dropped their not for profit status and you complain. You complain about the Commish, who certainly isn't free from critique but your assign blame to the owners figure head and not the owners? I don't know Shas, sounds like complaining for complaining sake.

I wonder if there's a smoker out there who puffs away on the product all the while bitching about the "business" that supplied them with their love?

Maybe one day they will "ruin the game", maybe not. But when all I see is how the league is as popular as it ever has been, the general complaints with no real target other than "the business" ring hollow to me.

[lovefootball]

Marijuana, makes people crazy, LOL. More then a painkiller, it gives people crazy thoughts. Bet there are smokers talking to lawyers to get back at the business side. Kind of like the older players suing the nfl for head injuries and such.
To me, there is 2 sides to every business. The people who execute the business plan and the people who think up the plan. Think the sales people actually care about what they're selling. The people who have to do the actual work that is sold know the salesman could never build what he has sold. Gift of gab and people who use their hands, 2 different people.

Goodell reaping millions to make stupid mistakes that the players union laugh at. Yeah, 2 sides to every business. The front office and the in the field workers. Guess who makes more money?

[Ravens Fan]

How much money could the NFL possibly provide a drug company? The league only has about 1,500 players. Successful drugs are measured in billions of dollars. There is no way they are worried about selling less percocet or oxycodine to NFL players because of pot.

Its not all about the NFL...certain pharmaceutical companies believe it is in their best interest to do anything to prevent marijuana from being seen as a "legitimate" medication. Maybe the NFL doesn't provide a ton of money but it legitimizes medical cannabis which could easily be seen as a slippery slope. It is a fact that pharmaceutical companies to lobby to keep cannabis illegal at the federal level along with police groups and private prisons.

Although there are several THC and CBD extracts currently available in the US by prescription, they haven't caught on because the chemicals in cannabis work together, synergistically to create the medical effects. Extracting one single molecule doesn't work. Whole plant extracts are what patients need, but its not easy to get because the law prosecutes cannabis oil production on the same level as running a meth lab.

Cannabis as a federally recognized medicine IS coming though, within the next 2-3 years. The problem so far has been that smoking or eating plant matter is not an accurate way of dosing oneself. There are hundreds of strains of cannabis and each contains different concentrations of cannabinoids, terpenes, waxes and lipids. Several have been shown to have medical value and dozens more are under investigation.

Since Colorado and Washington legalized "the reefer", there has been advanced development in the medical cannabis industry. Several entrepeneurs in the perfume industry have converted their thin-film distillation systems from producing perfumes, to producing medical-grade, whole-plant cannabis extracts. These extracts can be infused into a transdermal patch and delivered directly into the bloodstream, allowing for an extremely precise dosage compared to smoking or eating raw cannabis. The dose can be controlled by the individual and there will be several different formulations: one for energy, one for pain relief, one for sleep aid, and one for seizure relief.

One company that is developing these highly specialized extracts is called United Cannabis Corp. They have access to tribal land in California to conduct large scale growing operations, and the extraction tech to make the rest happen. They aren't available for retail sale outside of Colorado, Washington and California but there are people online mailing them to all 50 states if you know where to look. These patches will have a huge effect on transforming cannabis into a "legitimate" drug.

And hopefully help me end my caffeine addiction!

[GOTA]

Its not all about the NFL...certain pharmaceutical companies believe it is in their best interest to do anything to prevent marijuana from being seen as a "legitimate" medication. Maybe the NFL doesn't provide a ton of money but it legitimizes medical cannabis which could easily be seen as a slippery slope. It is a fact that pharmaceutical companies to lobby to keep cannabis illegal at the federal level along with police groups and private prisons.

Although there are several THC and CBD extracts currently available in the US by prescription, they haven't caught on because the chemicals in cannabis work together, synergistically to create the medical effects. Extracting one single molecule doesn't work. Whole plant extracts are what patients need, but its not easy to get because the law prosecutes cannabis oil production on the same level as running a meth lab.

Cannabis as a federally recognized medicine IS coming though, within the next 2-3 years. The problem so far has been that smoking or eating plant matter is not an accurate way of dosing oneself. There are hundreds of strains of cannabis and each contains different concentrations of cannabinoids, terpenes, waxes and lipids. Several have been shown to have medical value and dozens more are under investigation.

Since Colorado and Washington legalized "the reefer", there has been advanced development in the medical cannabis industry. Several entrepeneurs in the perfume industry have converted their thin-film distillation systems from producing perfumes, to producing medical-grade, whole-plant cannabis extracts. These extracts can be infused into a transdermal patch and delivered directly into the bloodstream, allowing for an extremely precise dosage compared to smoking or eating raw cannabis. The dose can be controlled by the individual and there will be several different formulations: one for energy, one for pain relief, one for sleep aid, and one for seizure relief.

One company that is developing these highly specialized extracts is called United Cannabis Corp. They have access to tribal land in California to conduct large scale growing operations, and the extraction tech to make the rest happen. They aren't available for retail sale outside of Colorado, Washington and California but there are people online mailing them to all 50 states if you know where to look. These patches will have a huge effect on transforming cannabis into a "legitimate" drug.

And hopefully help me end my caffeine addiction!

Even if that's all true it's not the reason why the NFL still has marijuana on their banned list of drugs. The NFL is not bowing to pressure from drug companies. It's the government they are really scared of and alway will be as long as they have that anti-trust exemption. That goes away and the NFL can be forced to break up like Ma Bell.