Congressman Blumenauer Urges NFL And NBA To End Cannabis Prohibition
Clifford Robinson is a proud resident of Portland, Oregon. Cliff played for the Portland Trail Blazers for 8 seasons, having been named an NBA All-Star and NBA Sixth Man of the Year while playing with the Blazers. Robinson ranks in the top ten in several Blazer career statistical categories. Portland is home to part of Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District, which is the district represented by Congressman Earl Blumenauer.
The Uncle Cliffy team has covered Congressman Blumenauer’s pro-cannabis efforts in the past. In mid-October Blumenauer testified in a Congressional hearing in support of cannabis as a viable solution to combat the opioid epidemic. Congressman Blumenauer has been a champion of cannabis reform in the political world for a very long time, having led the effort in Oregon’s Legislature in 1973 to successfully decriminalize cannabis possession. The successful effort made Oregon the first state in the nation to decriminalize cannabis.
Congressman Blumenauer has either sponsored, co-sponsored, or strongly supported every pro-cannabis reform measure that has been introduced in Congress since he became a United States Representative in 1996. Blumenauer was recently interviewed by TMZ, and during the interview, Earl Blumenauer had something to say specifically about sports cannabis reform. Per TMZ:
“It’s much less damaging than the opioids, the painkillers, the shots, the pills … and it’s time professional sports stops punishing them but works with them.”
Congressman Blumenauer says 2/3 Americans have legal access to medical marijuana — so to ban NBA and NFL players is basically treating them like “second class citizens.”
Earl Blumenauer’s endorsement of ending cannabis prohibition in professional sports is a big deal. As far as the Uncle Cliffy team is aware, he is the first member of Congress to specifically express support for cannabis reform in professional sports. Hopefully his support encourages other members of Congress to do the same, and also hopefully it is an endorsement that league officials in the NBA and NFL see and are swayed by. If fans, players (current and retired), members of sports media, and members of Congress all keep calling on the leagues to end cannabis prohibition, they will have to listen and get on the right side of history.
NFL Endorses Federal Criminal Justice Reform Bill
Players from the National Football League (NFL) have been leading a call for criminal justice reform in America. The protests and calls for reform have been widely publicized, and don’t appear to be ending any time soon. A national conversation has been underway as a result, and the conversation can be quite intense at times. However, it does appear to be having an effect on the NFL. Yesterday the NFL endorsed a federal criminal justice reform bill, which is a significant development in the overall conversation, and a fairly unprecedented move. Per The Washington Post:
The NFL’s spokesman said on Monday that the league has decided to endorse a bipartisan bill to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenders, eliminate “three-strike” provisions that require life sentences and give judges more latitude to reduce sentences for certain low-level crimes.
“We felt that this was an issue over the last months, as we have continued to work with our players on issues of equality and on issues of criminal justice reform, that was surfaced for us, and we thought it was appropriate to lend our support to it,” NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said Monday during a conference call with reporters.
The Uncle Cliffy team commends the NFL on its endorsement. Criminal justice reform is definitely needed in this country, and it’s something that our team definitely supports. But, the Uncle Cliffy team feels that the endorsement does not go far enough, and is somewhat hypocritical given the NFL’s current cannabis policy. The NFL prohibits cannabis consumption by players, with zero exceptions. Any player who is caught with THC metabolites in their system above a threshold of 35 ng/mL is severely punished. Players like Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson have had to endure long suspensions for failing drug tests as a result of cannabis use.
To make matters even worse, the NFL perpetuates institutional racism by penalizing players who are caught with cannabis away from their teams. In America, African Americans are almost 4 times as likely to be arrested for cannabis compared to Caucasians, despite usage rates being relatively the same among the two races. Some areas of America have even greater racial arrest disparities, with parts of Missouri experiencing cannabis arrest rates for African Americans at 18 times the rate of Caucasians. If an African American NFL player is 18 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis off the field, and the NFL penalizes players for cannabis arrests, an African American player is therefore 18 times as likely to be penalized by the NFL for cannabis compared to Caucasian NFL players. That perpetuation of institutional racism is unacceptable.
If the NFL truly supports criminal justice reform it should start by updating its own cannabis policy to ensure that its minority players are no longer disproportionately impacted by the league’s cannabis prohibition policy. Anything short of that and the NFL’s endorsement of the federal bill is hypocritical and insincere. The NFL needs to have compassion for its players, and allow them to use a plant that has been found to be 114 times safer than alcohol. Free the plant!
Welcome Back Buffalo Bills Offensive Tackle Seantrel Henderson!
Seantrel Henderson is an offensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). The NFL suspended Seantrel for 10 games during Week 12 of last season due to a failed drug test. Seantrel Henderson was using medical cannabis to treat pain related to Crohn’s disease and two intestinal surgeries, and as a result, tested positive for THC metabolites. The NFL cannabis testing threshold is 35 ng/mL, which is over four times as stringent as the standard that Olympic athletes are held to (150 ng/mL).
Pharmaceutical painkillers are not an option for Mr. Henderson because of his multiple intestinal surgeries. Cannabis seems to be the only thing that works. Yet, despite the clear medical need for consuming cannabis, Seantrel Henderson was suspended for 10 games. The NFL’s drug testing policy provides for zero exceptions for cannabis use, even when the use occurs in a state where it’s legal, and even when the player has been recommended cannabis by a medical doctor. Seantrel previously served a four game suspension for the same reason (cannabis use).
Fortunately for Seantrel Henderson, he has been reinstated by the Buffalo Bills after having served his suspension, effective earlier today. Per Buffalo Rumblings:
The Buffalo Billshave activated offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, who was eligible to return to the Bills today having now completed his 10-game suspension that dates back to last season. The Bills had a deadline of 4 p.m. Eastern to make the decision regarding Henderson.
According to the previously cited Buffalo Rumblings article, Henderson stated that he hasn’t had any issues with Crohn’s disease’s recently, which is a great thing. However, it begs the question, ‘what happens if/when Henderson experiences pain from his disease?’ Seantrel Henderson will be faced with the choice of consuming cannabis for relief and then face likely disciplinary action, or go without his medicine and (needlessly) endure significant pain, or step away from the job and sport that he obviously loves. All of those options are unacceptable.
Regardless if Seantrel’s condition flares up or not, what is happening to him is inhumane. No one should be required to go without a proven medicine, especially when the motivation preventing the medicine’s use is based on political beliefs, not science. The NFL’s cannabis policy is harmful. Seantrel Henderson’s case is an unfortunate example of that. Cannabis is 114 times safer than alcohol, yet players are prohibited from using cannabis while the NFL simultaneously embraces alcohol. That is extremely hypocritical. The NFL needs to have some compassion for its players and fix its failed, harmful cannabis policy.
The Uncle Cliffy team, which is comprised of some of the biggest Buffalo Bills fans on this planet, wants to congratulate Seantrel Henderson on getting back on the field. Clearly he never should have been taken off the field in the first place. Hopefully he can put this matter behind him as much as possible, which will be difficult given his medical need for cannabis. The Uncle Cliffy team will continue to call on the NFL to end cannabis prohibition and let players make the safer choice until all players like Seantrel Henderson can consume cannabis without repercussions. Good luck Seantrel, go Bills!
Photo via Facebook
Debunking Myths That Sports Leagues Use To Justify Cannabis Prohibition
A number of sports leagues and organizations prohibit cannabis use by athletes, and have for many years. Cannabis use is prohibited in leagues like the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and Major League Baseball (MLB), even when the use occurs in a legal state, and even when the use is medical in nature. The Uncle Cliffy team, led by 18 year NBA veteran Clifford Robinson, wholeheartedly opposes cannabis prohibition in professional sports.
Cannabis prohibition does not work, but for some reason many league officials and athletic competition regulators cling to the failed policy anyways. Various reasons are offered up by sports cannabis prohibitionists as justification for keeping prohibition in place. The reasons offered up are not valid and the claims prohibitionists make are often based on personal opinions rather than on facts. Anyone who has conducted sufficient research can easily debunk the reasons offered up by officials who try to justify prohibiting cannabis in professional sports.
One of the most common reasons offered up by sports cannabis prohibitionists is that ‘there needs to be more research’ conducted before leagues and regulatory entities can make an educated decision on a policy change. As the Uncle Cliffy team has previously pointed out, cannabis is one of the most studied substances on the planet. Cannabis has been the subject of more peer reviewed studies than Toradol, Hydrocodone, and Tylenol – combined. All three of those substances are widely embraced by professional sports leagues. If there has been enough studies of those substances to warrant allowing their use by athletes in the NBA, NFL, and MLB, why isn’t the same true for cannabis?
Another common reason offered up by sports cannabis prohibitionists is that cannabis is harmful to players, with no exceptions. That claim completely ignores the undeniable, growing body of evidence that proves that cannabis can be very beneficial for athletes. We list several studies on our website which have found that cannabis can be effective at treating pain and brain injuries. Cannabis is also effective at treating many other conditions and ailments. Cannabis can also help athletes reduce their reliance on opioids and other pharmaceutical drugs, which is something that every league should be on board with. Cannabis has been found to be 114 times safer than alcohol, yet cannabis is banned and alcohol is widely embraced by professional sports leagues. How does that make sense? It doesn’t.
A third reason offered up by some sports cannabis prohibitionists, which is ironic given the previous paragraph, is that cannabis is a performance enhancing drug. The Uncle Cliffy team does not believe that cannabis is an athletic performance enhancer, at least not to the point that it warrants being prohibited for that reason. Some research has found that cannabis consumption can increase blood flow and oxygen uptake. However, the same could be said for water and a number of foods. Cannabis can help with inflammation and pain, but so too can various over-the-counter medications that are not prohibited by professional sports leagues.
Just because a substance provides a slight difference in biological functions such as oxygen uptake does not mean that it should be categorized as a performance enhancing drug. A difference needs to be made between substances that slightly increase a biological function and those that clearly provide an advantage to athletes that use them. A substance needs to provide a significant physical advantage to an athlete in order to warrant being classified as a performance enhancing drug, and therefore be banned in professional sports leagues. What the exact threshold should be is something that the Uncle Cliffy team will leave to the scientific community, but we feel very confident in saying that cannabis is not a performance enhancing drug and should not be in the same category as anabolic steroids.
From a scientific standpoint, cannabis can help athletes via wellness benefits, and is safer than other substances that athletes are allowed to use. From a rules standpoint, any concerns that prohibitionists have do not outweigh the need for compassion for athletes and the need to eliminate the perpetuation of institutional racism in professional sports. Cannabis prohibition has a disproportionate impact on minority athletes, and that is something that professional sports leagues should want to avoid. League cannabis policies should be based on science and logic, not the personal political beliefs of a small group of league officials and sports competition regulators. If the National Hockey League can operate successfully without including cannabis on its list of banned substances, other leagues can certainly do the same. Free the plant!
Cannabis Reform In The National Football League Remains Elusive
The National Football League (NFL) has one of the strictest cannabis testing policies in professional sports. The policy has been ‘improved’ in recent years. The NFL tests players’ bodily fluids (urine) to see how much THC metabolites are in it. The previous threshold was 15 ng/mL, but has since been changed to 35 ng/mL. To put that into perspective, the current threshold is still over 4 times as strict as the threshold to compete in the Olympics (150 ng/mL).
A very big push has been underway recently to try to convince the NFL to get on the right side of history. A number of NFL players (both current and retired), along with a very high profile team owner, have been calling on the NFL to drop its prohibition on cannabis in one form or another. Some are arguing that cannabis prohibition in the NFL needs to be ended entirely, while others sound like they would be satisfied with exceptions for medical use. The Uncle Cliffy team is in the end prohibition entirely camp, as it’s the only way to ensure that selective enforcement will not occur and that the NFL’s current policy of perpetuating institutional racism will be put to an end.
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has come out publicly pushing for a ‘less restrictive’ policy. Details of what that would look like have not been fully explained as of this post. The NFL made an announcement recently that it would be willing to work with the NFLPA on the issue, specifically as it relates to pain management. The announcement was heralded by many in the sports world, but the Uncle Cliffy team tempered our enthusiasm, and will continue to do so.
Articles have been popping up all over the internet touting the recent developments as significant achievements, framed in a way as if to suggest that cannabis prohibition ending in the NFL is essentially inevitable no matter what. The Uncle Cliffy team definitely likes to see the conversation picking up momentum, but feels that it’s worth pointing out that meaningful reform has not yet occurred, nor is there an expected timeline for when it will occur. For that matter, specific proposals have not even surfaced. The fact remains that cannabis reform in the NFL remains elusive. How long will it take for the NFL to update its cannabis policy, and what that update would look like, is still anyone’s guess.
Increased momentum for reform should absolutely be celebrated and embraced, but it should be balanced with a never ending desire to keep pushing for meaningful reform. A lot of work still needs to be done, and while there is light at the end of the tunnel, there is still a tremendous amount of heavy lifting that still needs to occur. Players, both current and retired, need to keep speaking out. Team owners and fans also need to step up and put pressure on league officials.
No one wins, including the NFL itself, when players are taken off the field for consuming and/or possessing a plant that is 114 times safer than alcohol. The Uncle Cliffy team is confident that meaningful reform will occur in the NFL sooner rather than later, but only if advocates continue to fight as hard as possible to free the plant and not get complacent. The plant is not going to free itself just because conversations have picked up. Keep fighting for freedom and compassion. Onward!
The NFL Should Dismiss Jaelen Strong’s Cannabis Suspension
The Uncle Cliffy team has made it clear that we feel that no professional athlete should be suspended for cannabis. That includes not only cannabis suspensions related to random drug testing, but also for suspensions related to cannabis-related interactions with law enforcement away from the team. This would include the case of NFL player Jaelen Strong who is a wide receiver for the Houston Texans.
Jaelen Strong was arrested in 2016 in Scottsdale, Arizona after a car he was a passenger in was pulled over, and Jaelen was found to be in possession of three cannabis joints. Arizona is home to some of the harshest cannabis laws in the country, with possession of 3 joints being a felony, carrying a penalty of up to 2 years in prison and a $150,000 fine. Fortunately Jaelen was able to avoid jail time by agreeing to an array of alternative punishments.
But Jaelen is not only being punished by the Arizona court system, he is also being punished by the NFL, who has suspended Mr. Strong for one game because of the arrest in Arizona. In addition to the suspension and court punishments, Jaelen has had to deal with a lot of stigma from the league and the media, and will likely have to continue to deal with the stigma the rest of his promising career. Jaelen Strong has appealed his one game suspension, and the Uncle Cliffy team is hopeful that he will prevail.
As the Uncle Cliffy team has pointed out before, suspending African American NFL players for cannabis arrests away from the team perpetuates institutional racism. In Arizona, African Americans are almost two and a half times more likely to be arrested for cannabis compared to Caucasians despite usage rates being roughly the same between the races. So if an African American player (like Jaelen Strong) is over twice as likely to be arrested for cannabis away from the team, that same player is also over twice as likely to be suspended by the NFL for a cannabis arrest. That policy is unacceptable, and is a policy that the NFL needs to change immediately.
Taking players off the field for a cannabis arrest is absurd on many levels. To put into perspective just how ridiculous the NFL’s policy is, consider the fact that had Jaelen Strong been in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, or Washington D.C. at the time, the amount of cannabis he was possessing would have been perfectly legal (California, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts had not legalized cannabis at the time of arrest, but have since then).
Three joints is roughly 3 grams of cannabis. In all of the previously mentioned states an adult over 21 years old can possess up to 28 grams of cannabis while in transit and it’s perfectly legal. In Washington D.C., the same person could possess up to 56 grams of cannabis in transit. The math alone is enough to highlight how unfairly Jaelen has been treated. Had he simply been in another state (or in Washington D.C.), he would have been allowed to go about his day with no penalty at all. In many other jurisdictions, which have decriminalized personal cannabis possession, Strong would not have been arrested and the NFL likely would have never heard about the incident.
But because Jaelen Strong was in a prohibition state, he was arrested, and because the NFL perpetuates institutional racism via its cannabis policy, he now gets to potentially sit out a game. Even if he wins his appeal, he will still have to deal with the unfair stigma that comes with being a professional athlete associated with cannabis. That is an unfortunate situation that Cliff Robinson is very familiar with.
“I was obviously suspended multiple times for cannabis use during my pro career. I have also had to deal with the stigma that Jaelen Strong is experiencing. It’s nothing I would wish on anyone. Jaelen Strong was caught with a plant that is safer than alcohol and safer than opioids, which are two substances that the NFL widely embraces. The amount he was caught with is a legal amount in 8 states now. No one was harmed by what Jaelen did, so why is he being taken off the field? Jaelen Strong is a talented player, and hopefully he wins his appeal and can put all of this behind him.” said Cliff Robinson.
image via Battle Red Blog
Ryan O’Callaghan Joins List Of NFL Players Demanding Cannabis Reform
The list of current and retired NFL players that have come out in support of cannabis reform continues to expand. The latest retired NFL player to add his name to that list is Ryan O’Callaghan. O’Callaghan played offensive line for the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs. Mr. O’Callaghan had the following to say, according to CBS Sports:
“For people like me, marijuana is a godsend because you don’t want to take these pills.”
Below is a list that the Uncle Cliffy team has compiled of current and retired NFL players who have expressed support for cannabis reform in the league. The list also includes other members of the NFL community:
“I would like it to be like the other leagues and not test. It’s not a performance enhancing drug.” – NFL Coach Bruce Arians (Arizona Cardinals), referring to cannabis in a recent interview on CBS Sports Radio
“If you were hurting, then you could get ’em, you know. It was nothing. I mean, if you needed Vicodin, call out, ‘My ankle hurt,’ you know.” – retired NFL player Calvin Johnson, referring to painkiller availability in the NFL during an ESPN interview
“I think Jerry’s opinion, my opinion, is this program, this system has been in place for a long time. I think it needs to be heavily scrutinized in terms of its results.” – Dallas Cowboys VP Stephen Jones said about cannabis testing in the NFL in an interview with PFT Live
“If you look at Roger Goodell, every time he’s asked about (the marijuana issue) he always says, ‘We’re taking recommendations of our medical doctors.’ Well Roger, we don’t want to follow the science. We want you to lead the science.” – retired NFL player Marvin Washington in an interview with NY Daily News
“I will tell you this, if it ever comes to a point where I do need pain management, I’d feel very lucky and happy now that we have medicinal marijuana in Pennsylvania.” – NFL Hall of Famer Franco Harris in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“I will never stop pushing for the League to accept medical cannabis as a viable option for pain management.” – NFL player Eugene Monroe, via Twitter
““We make so many sacrifices, and we put our body and mind through so much that you look for holistic ways to alleviate some of those issues. This is one that I found that helps me.”- retired NFL cornerback Lito Sheppard in an interview with Philly.com
“If we want to save football, then we’ve got to start looking at solutions, not just count concussions. Cannabis is that potential savior.” – retired NFL player Kyle Turley, in an interview with Freedom Leaf
“How do we do it in society right now? How does that affect the way a player sees his situation in that lens?’ And then make decisions based on that.” – Dallas Cowboys VP Stephen Jones said about cannabis testing reform in the NFL in an interview with PFT Live
“Marijuana’s already keeping the game afloat. Roughly half of those guys are already using it every week. They have to keep it a secret, though. If they get caught they get fined or suspended. It’s a really uncompassionate stance to take.” – retired NFL player Nate Jackson, via an interview with The Guardian
“The NFL is reviewing its position on medical marijuana. They’re really reviewing their whole pain management regimen and how those things are handled, but if you don’t mind me giving you my personal feeling (why the hell would I mind?), I feel in any state that has approved medical marijuana (as 28 states hosting 20 of the NFL’s 32 teams have), the league should remove medical marijuana from being a banned substance.” – NFL Hall of Famer Franco Harris in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“If the NFL got behind this, this would go a long way to breaking down the walls and barriers that are there. Not only in society, but in sports leagues. I know marijuana is not the problem in the NFL. I know what the problem is — it’s concussions and opiate addiction.” – retired NFL player Marvin Washington in an interview with NY Daily News
“I’ve never had any side effects from smoking herb or even the edibles….It’s a medicinal herb. It’s not a drug. When we get over the stigma of that, I think we’ll be better off in this country.” – retired NFL player Jim McMahon, at the Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo
“What happens is we love to take care of the players when they’re playing. But when we get done and after the five years of insurance runs out, these guys are strung out.” – retired NFL player Jake Plummer, in an interview with Fox Sports
“I will do everything I can to ensure the generations of NFL players after me won’t have to resort to harmful and addictive opioids as their only option for pain management.” – NFL player Eugene Monroe, via Twitter
“I’ve talked to a number of people and I know there have been studies that show the science behind medical marijuana in relation to pain management. I’ve talked to people who’ve been in pain due to falling off a roof or being in a car accident and they have praised medical marijuana and how it helped them. The science is there to support its benefits with seizures, epilepsy, a lot of different conditions. It’s not addictive and, to me, this is just one of the most important things we can do for people.” – NFL Hall of Famer Franco Harris in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“My experience with cannabis has taught me that it is a far better option than the pills that get shoved at players .” – retired NFL player Boo Williams, during an interview with NBC Sports
“There is no excuse for us to say we don’t know enough anymore about a plant that has grown from the ground for thousands of years and used as medicine around the world.” – retired NFL player Kyle Turley, in an interview on ESPN
“I know medicinal marijuana has been a Godsend for me. With my chronic pain, all my surgeries I’ve had. The arthritis. It’s getting me through the day. I would hope the governor would get on board with this. It’s helped so many people: epileptics, cancer patients… It helps me every day. I feel a heck of a lot better than when I had to take all those pain pills.” – retired NFL player Jim McMahon, per MLB Reports
“Pain every day is not good, not a good quality of life, so pain management is very important. I would put it this way. I know the league is starting to have more open discussion on this at this time. And I know what a big step for them. It’s not something they take lightly. I like that it’s open to discussion. I’m hoping that they realize that pain management is very important to current and past players and if past players are going to be involved with medical marijuana and that it’s legal, I don’t see why current players shouldn’t.” – NFL Hall of Famer Franco Harris in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
“I want to change the stigma of this plant. I know it can help.” – retired NFL player Marvin Washington in an interview with NY Daily News
“Current NFL policy does not allow for every potential option in mitigating pain. The NFL says it’s doing everything it can. It’s not.” – NFL player Eugene Monroe, during an interview with Sports Illustrated
“I feel like the NFL has a responsibility to look into it, to delegate time and money to research this for its players. Given how much influence that the NFL has on society, I think it would help the greater good. There’s a lot of people suffering and a lot of people that can benefit from cannabis as a medical treatment.” – NFL player Derrick Morgan, in an interview with Yahoo Global News
“It’s about not only us, but former players, future players and more so society as a whole.” – NFL player Derrick Morgan, speaking about cannabis research in an interview with Yahoo Global News
“I think the NFL just needs to loosen up the rules and let everybody live.” – retired NFL player Randy Moss, when asked by Talking Football whether he supported removing cannabis from the NFL’s banned substance list
image via Wikipedia
Jerry Jones Agrees That The NFL Should Research Benefits Of Cannabis
At the beginning of this year the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) announced that it would be proposing a ‘less punitive’ NFL cannabis policy. Details of exactly what that would look like have still yet to surface. That announcement has since been followed by an announcement earlier this month that the National Football League (NFL) has expressed an interest in working with the NFLPA to explore the idea of allowing medical cannabis use for pain management. Per the Washington Post:
The NFL has written to the NFL Players Association offering to work in tandem to study the potential use of marijuana as a pain management tool for players, according to people familiar with the situation.
It is the clearest indication to this point that the league may be willing to work cooperatively with the union toward such marijuana use, which is currently banned by the sport.
The NFLPA is conducting its own study and, according to those familiar with the deliberations, is yet to respond to the NFL’s offer to cooperate on marijuana-related research.
The Uncle Cliffy team endorsed the idea of medical cannabis legalization in the NFL at the time of both announcements, but made sure to make it clear that such a league policy change should be seen as a step in the right direction, and not as a permanent solution. If only medical cannabis use were to be allowed by the NFL, it would not eliminate the institutional racism that is perpetuated by the NFL’s current policy of suspending players when they are arrested for cannabis. Highlighting the issue is the case of Green Bay Packers receiver Geronimo Allison, who was suspended by the NFL after cannabis was found in his car by law enforcement during a traffic stop away from the team.
Nationally, African Americans are almost four times as likely to be arrested for cannabis compared to Caucasians, even though consumption rates are relatively the same between races. In Wisconsin, African Americans are six times as likely to be arrested for cannabis. So if an African American NFL player (such as Geronimo Allison) is six times as likely to be arrested for cannabis off the field, then they are also six times as likely to be suspended by the NFL because of cannabis. Allowing medical cannabis use in the NFL would not fix that issue.
With that being said, the Uncle Cliffy team still supports what the NFL is doing and hopes that it results in some meaningful results. Allowing players to use cannabis for pain management is an outstanding improvement on the current NFL cannabis policy. The always outspoken owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, also supports what the NFL is doing, per an article by NBC Sports:
“I agree with what the NFL is doing,” Jones said in his Hall of Fame press conference. “There is real fertile ground there. It is a labor issue that like several things, not just that one, I understand the sensitivity about that particular issue. A lot of people would disagree it’s a labor issue, but that’s the way these things work. A lot of things get thrown in that hat. The fact we’re discussing it, it’s no secret the Players Association have wanted to discuss that area and do better in that area.
“I think that’s accurate that we should have it as something to improve on. The problem I’m having here is I do not know what is the definition of improvement, but we can all do better here.”
Jerry Jones did not want to go into the particulars of what an NFL policy should look like in an ideal situation, but the Uncle Cliffy team thinks that the solution is clear – free the plant. The Uncle Cliffy team has been calling for, and will continue calling for, a complete end to cannabis prohibition in the NFL. Cannabis is safer than alcohol and pharmaceutical drugs, substances which the NFL widely embraces. Cannabis is legal for adult-use in eight states and Washington D.C., and will soon be legal in many more states.
It’s time that the NFL looked at the facts and allowed science and compassion determine the league’s cannabis policy, and not outdated political views. Cannabis prohibition is harmful, both in society and in professional sports. The Uncle Cliffy team would like to (again) give a big hat tip to Jerry Jones for speaking out in support of this important issue.
image via NBC
NFL Offers To Work With NFLPA To Study Cannabis For Pain Management
In January the Uncle Cliffy team posted an article highlighting an announcement by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) that it would be proposing a ‘less punitive’ NFL cannabis policy. Details of exactly what that would look like have yet to surface. Late yesterday the National Football League (NFL) expressed an interest in working with the NFLPA to explore the idea of allowing medical cannabis use for pain management. Per the Washington Post:
The NFL has written to the NFL Players Association offering to work in tandem to study the potential use of marijuana as a pain management tool for players, according to people familiar with the situation.
It is the clearest indication to this point that the league may be willing to work cooperatively with the union toward such marijuana use, which is currently banned by the sport.
The NFLPA is conducting its own study and, according to those familiar with the deliberations, is yet to respond to the NFL’s offer to cooperate on marijuana-related research.
This is a big departure from previous comments made by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In April Mr. Goodell expressed a belief that cannabis has no medical value. That claim is of course false, which the Uncle Cliffy team was quick to point out.
“Commissioner Goodell’s comments aren’t just scientifically inaccurate, they are harmful to players.” Cliff Robinson said at the time of Roger Goodell’s anti-cannabis comments. “By denying cannabis’ medical value, Mr. Goodell negatively impacts the important conversation regarding medical cannabis and players in the NFL. Cannabis can help players that are battling brain injuries, chronic pain, and other conditions. But rather than work on a policy that is based on science and compassion for players, the Commissioner appears to want to continue to enforce a failed policy, and in the process, push players towards more harmful substances like opioid painkillers.”
The Uncle Cliffy team will be keeping a close eye on this story to see how it develops. With no details emerging thus far about what the NFL and NFLPA working in tandem to craft a ‘less punitive’ cannabis policy would look like, all we can do is sit and wait. We truly hope that the studies and conversations are meaningful and constructive, and that they lead to an improved NFL cannabis policy. It would be very disheartening if yesterday’s announcement by the league turned out to just be empty rhetoric.
An NFL cannabis policy that allows medical cannabis use would be a great step in the right direction, but would be an approach that would not go far enough in our opinion. As we pointed out in a previous article, anything short of a complete end to cannabis prohibition in the NFL would result in institutional racism continuing to be perpetuated by the league. Players like Geronimo Allison, who was recently caught with cannabis in a non-medical state, would still be punished by the league, despite the fact that Mr. Allison was the victim of a law that affects African Americans at six times the rate of Caucasians.
If an African American NFL player is 6 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis off the field, such as in Geronimo Allison’s case in Wisconsin, then that player is also 6 times as likely to be punished by the NFL for cannabis. An updated NFL cannabis policy needs to address that issue, which the current proposal would not do. The Uncle Cliffy team feels that the only way to do that is to end cannabis prohibition in the NFL altogether.
A medical-only approach to an NFL cannabis policy will still result in players of certain races being targeted off the field, and in the process, result in them having their NFL careers disproportionately impacted. It would likely also lead to unequal protections under the hypothetical NFL cannabis policy, with some players’ use being considered to be medical in nature, and others being labeled as ‘abuse.’ That’s a situation that NFL players should want to avoid by all means necessary.
image via Wikipedia
The NFL Is Perpetuating Institutional Racism By Suspending Geronimo Allison
A lot of attention has been focused towards trying to get the National Football League (NFL) to allow players to use cannabis for medical purposes. It is an effort that is very worthwhile, and the Uncle Cliffy team absolutely supports such a league policy change. However, the Uncle Cliffy team also feels that such a policy change would no go far enough, and that cannabis prohibition should be ended in the NFL entirely, as well as in other professional sports leagues that prohibit cannabis use.
Even if the league allowed players to use cannabis for medical purposes, players could still be penalized by the league for cannabis, even if they were in full compliance with their state of residence’s medical cannabis program. Not all states recognize patients’ status as a legal medical cannabis patient. A player could be traveling, and get arrested in a prohibition state with the medical cannabis that they need to treat their condition(s).
A player in the scenario described above would not be in violation of a hypothetical NFL policy that allowed players to test positive for cannabis when they are in compliance with their state of residence’s medical cannabis laws. However, they would be in violation of the cannabis prohibition laws in the state in which they were arrested, which would then result in the player being punished by the league. The NFL, like most other professional sports leagues, penalizes players for getting arrested for cannabis, no matter the circumstances. The latest victim of that policy is Green Bay Packers wide receiver Geronimo Allison, who was recently suspended after being caught with a personal amount of cannabis in Wisconsin. Per Packers News:
Green Bay Packers receiver Geronimo Allison will serve a one-game suspension without pay for violating the NFL substance-abuse policy, the NFL announced Wednesday.
Allison was charged with a misdemeanor possession of marijuana in December after being pulled over for speeding on Interstate 43 near Francis Creek. He reached a settlement with prosecutors and will pay $330.50 with community service requirements. The charge was amended to an ordinance violation.
Regardless of if Geronimo Allison was a registered medical cannabis patient in a legal state or not, the fact of the matter is Mr. Allison was arrested for cannabis (which he maintains was not his) and so the league took action on him. In doing so, the NFL is perpetuating institutional racism. As the Uncle Cliffy team has pointed out before, cannabis prohibition enforcement has a disproportionate impact on the African American community. Nationally, African Americans are almost four times as likely to be arrested for cannabis compared to Caucasians, even though consumption rates are relatively the same between races. In Wisconsin, African Americans are six times as likely to be arrested for cannabis.
So if an African American NFL player (such as Geronimo Allison) is six times as likely to be arrested for cannabis off the field, then they are also six times as likely to be suspended by the NFL because of cannabis. There is no debating that fact, as the math clearly speaks for itself. What is happening to Geronimo Allison, and has happened to a number of other NFL players, is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. It should serve as an unfortunate example of why NFL players need to demand a complete end to cannabis prohibition in the league, and why athletes in other leagues should demand nothing short of the same thing.
“I feel bad for Geronimo Allison, and for his family who is also having to now deal with the stigma that goes along with being suspended from competition because of cannabis. I know firsthand what that feels like, and it’s nothing that I would ever want to wish upon anyone. This young man did nothing wrong and didn’t harm anyone, so why is he being taken off of the field for having plant material in his car? He had plant material in his car that is safer than many substances that the NFL widely embraces. How is that fair? Hopefully he can move past this and focus on the upcoming season, but that will likely be harder now because of the stigma he is going to have to endure.” said Cliff Robinson.