The NFLPA yesterday said that it is "forming a committee to actively study the possibility of allowing players to use marijuana as a pain-management tool," though the union has "not yet determined if an adjustment to the sport’s ban on marijuana use is warranted," according to Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. The union is "forming an NFL players pain management committee that will study players’ use of marijuana as a pain-management mechanism, among other things." NFLPA Assistant Exec Dir of External Affairs George Atallah said, "Marijuana is still governed by our collective bargaining agreement. And while some states have moved in a more progressive direction, that fact still remains." Maske notes a "growing push from players within the sport, plus an ongoing national medical conversation over the benefits of marijuana and the dangers of opiate-based painkillers, have increased scrutiny on the league’s rules that ban the drug." Voters in California, Nevada and Massachusetts "approved recreational marijuana use Tuesday," joining four other states and DC in enacting similar laws. Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota voters "legalized medical marijuana use, bringing the total of states with such measures to more than two dozen." The NFL has "given no indication that, in its view, any change to the current drug policy is at hand" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/10). ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert noted in a recent NFL Nation poll, nearly "two thirds of active players surveyed said they believed that a relaxation of the NFL's marijuana policy would reduce the amount of chemical painkillers in use" (ESPN.com, 11/9).
PICK YOUR BATTLES: ESPN’s Mike Golic said with all the issues facing the NFL, maybe they "just need to let go" having marijuana on the banned list and "say, ‘We’re not going to test for it.’" Golic predicted marijuana "won't be tested for" when the next CBA is reached ("Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 11/10).
