The NFL Versus Health
When it comes to the player’s health, the NFL is crawling while other major sports organizations are walking. Historically, this is the approach the NFL is accustomed to. They have never been forward-thinking let alone proactive in this department.
Their stubbornness is most famously noted in their handling of concussions. And by handling, I mean keeping their players ignorant of science and covering up the facts from the public. Hoping that one day the problem will simply go away.
How does the NFL handle health for such a violent sport? Opiates. The highly addictive life-threatening drug has caused a nationwide epidemic. But I thought the NFL had a strict no-drug policy. They do, but that’s reserved for more dangerous drugs like Marijuana. Players have been suspended, and even banned because they tested positive for marijuana; the latter being a result of multiple suspensions.
The times, they are a-changing! The NFL is finally opening its mind up toward marijuana use along with the health benefits of CBD. The NFLPA, The National Football League Players Association, has been urging the conservative organization to relax their stance on cannabis and the punishment that went along with it. Forcing them to the light side of cannabis, to finally put in some effort to research its therapeutic qualities.
This process will be a crawl. The NFLPA and the NFL constantly butt heads over everything, really. Many experts believe the NFL will not make a change unless it can profit from said change. You might already be familiar with the term “collective bargaining agreement', which is often used when referring to this slow process.
However, the NFL has stated that they are not looking to bargain during their examination of marijuana and CBD, these are the same people who said concussions do not correlate with brain damage.
The NFL is crawling in the right direction, now we are waiting for them to start taking baby steps. We don’t know what the NFL will do in the future, so instead, let’s keep our focus on the baby steps they just took.
CBD Being Subbed in for Opiates
In 2020 the NFL-NFLPA created “The Fact-Finding Form” - because alliteration rules. This Fantastic Forum held two informational public meetings on CBD and cannabis use. The purpose was not to establish a new policy, but “to learn about the current state of CBD science and manufacturing in North America”.
Morse specifically, the NFL was looking into CBD and its potential to treat and manage acute pain; along with the additional benefits of the different delivery systems: oils, edibles, and vaporizers. First, the NFL wanted to compile all the research they could before making any major decisions - these are the baby steps.
To conduct their studies the NFL established the PMC, Pain Management Committee, made entirely of healthcare and medical professionals. The PMC had three things in mind during this process:
The potential therapeutic role of medications and non-pharmacological interventions that are alternatives to opioids in the routine pain management of NFL players. Medications may include but are not limited to, cannabinoids such as cannabidiol.
The impact of cannabis or cannabinoids on athletic performance in NFL players.
The potential therapeutic role of medications and non-pharmacological interventions that are considered adjunctive to routine post-surgical orthopedic pain management in NFL football players.
With these factors in mind, the task of the PMC is to establish a fair and consistent policy for the NFL when it comes to their regulations on drug use - The NFL plans to bring in these same experts to help with future studies in this field. One of the biggest areas of focus for the committee was on the manufacturer who produces these CBD-based products.
The PMC results are a mixture of good news and bad news. They determined that cannabis does show promise in the treatment of acute pain, but it is not as promising as they had hoped for. Don’t be alarmed by this. If you are familiar with CBD studies, then you already know what’s coming next.
The conclusion came to be a result of the overall lack of studies that have been done on CBD. Even though the PMC found a handful of successful trials where marijuana and two FDA-approved cannabinoids successfully treated acute pain; there simply were not enough of said trials to affirm the notion of CBD being substituted for opiates.
“CBD is a promising compound, but the level of its use in the United States outpaces the level of research at this point” - A direct quote from their findings.
The NFL is looking for a controlled substance and currently, CBD does not fall into that category. They are still skeptical of CBD because it is not regulated by the FDA, which leads to inconsistent products with varying degrees of potency and purity.
They must not be aware of the United States Hemp Authority, a committee of the industry’s leading experts. Their job is to make sure all CBD on the market is up to their golden standards. Unfortunately, as the NFL came to know, there are a ton of bad products available to consumers. Hopefully, the NFL will research the US Hemp Authority, see what they have done for the industry, and only allow products that have been approved by them.
A Brief Overview of NFL’s Current Stance on Cannabis Use
The league’s drug testing policy has changed over the years, thanks to the efforts of the NFLPA. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement will eliminate the suspension of players who test positive for marijuana.
Rather than keeping the old ways of penalizing marijuana users, the NFL has now taken a proactive approach to the situation. The removal of this punishment is a big victory for current players who are looking for alternatives to opioids; even though the NFL has yet to accept CBD or marijuana as a substitute.
The area that gets tricky is the new intervention program the NFL has set in place to help their players off the field deal with drug abuse. A player admitted to this program will receive a treatment plan after a full evaluation of their addiction. Excessive use of marijuana will lead a player to be placed in this intervention program.
The tricky part comes when a player has been sent to the intervention program and still tests positive for a prohibited substance. It is my understanding that this hypothetical player will not be suspended, but they will still face some sort of punishment. That punishment being:
“Testing positive for prohibited substances after that point would result in a half-week salary loss for first violations, a one-week salary loss for second violations, a two-week salary loss for third violations, and a three-week salary loss for fourth and subsequent violations. The threat of suspensions would be removed.”
The CBD Super Bowl
The NFL has acknowledged the fact that opioids are not the best method for treating pain. They have accepted the IDEA that CBD and Cannabis COULD be an alternative. As of this writing, that is how far the NFL has gotten on this subject. In football terms, I’d say they are still on their own 35-yard line.
Many critics of the NFL say their practice of taking baby steps when it relates to more forward-thinking ideas is commonplace; don’t expect any big decisions to be made soon. In 2019 people believed marijuana would be accepted in the NFL by 2021; that hasn’t happened yet and looks like it won’t happen at the start of the season.
Again, nobody really knows if or when the NFL will incorporate CBD and other cannabinoid products into their sport. And if they do go that route, it is uncertain how far the NFL will take the ball down the field; will they score an epic touchdown or settle for a basic field goal.
There is one positive takeaway: The NFL is no longer suspending people who test positive for marijuana. Fines are still in place for recurring users, so it’s not perfect, but it is a change. Slowly but surely, these small policy changes could lead to a breakthrough in how the NFL threats mental health and pain management.
Hail Mary time: the NFL taking a more modern approach to cannabis will in turn change the minds of those who religiously watch the sport into becoming more CBD-friendly.
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