The NFLPA plans to “propose updates to the collectively bargained substance abuse policy that repositions marijuana use as a player health and safety issue, along the same lines as revisions to concussion protocol in recent years,” according to Tom Pelissero of USA TODAY. NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith on Wednesday said that the goal is to "better emphasize diagnosis of underlying issues and treatment in the early phases of the drug program, rather than just getting players to stop smoking weed.” He added that the union "intends to hold the league accountable to make the necessary adjustments to a policy” that both sides agreed to in '14. Smith: “There is a better way to evaluate players who test positive for marijuana to figure out whether or not they have just a recreational use issue, whether they have an addiction problem, but equally important, whether or not they’re using the marijuana as a result of some other issue that we’re not even looking for -- whether there is a depression issue, whether there is an anxiety issue. And currently, the way the system works, that evaluation, that therapeutic look at the player isn’t occurring.” Pelissero noted the first step is “finalizing a proposal for review" by the NFLPA Exec Committee before the union’s annual meetings later this month. If approved, it would then “go to the board of representatives for another vote before it would be sent to the league.” The '14 policy also “slowed the ‘schedule’ for fines and suspensions for marijuana use relative to other drugs.” Smith said that his idea for revisions "doesn’t include further changes to discipline." Pelissero added this forthcoming proposal “isn’t related to the NFLPA’s nascent pain management committee, which the union is forming to study potential uses for cannabinoids and other alternatives to narcotic painkillers” (USATODAY.com, 3/2).
