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Up to 80% of pro athletes may be using cannabis

Up to 80% of pro athletes may be using cannabis

80% of pro athletes potentially using cannabis

You probably have heard about a runner’s high, but many professional athletes are actually getting high before they compete.

A former Georgia Bulldog and NFL player told Channel 2 Sports Director Zach Klein about 80% of the guys in the league are using marijuana.

Football is known for bone crushing hits. More and more players are turning to marijuana to help relieve the pain from the physicality of the sport.

“I would probably say around 80 % of the guys in our league use cannabis,” said Tavarres King, who played for the Georgia Bulldogs and spent seven years in the NFL.

“You mentioned 80% of your teammates or guys that you know in the league were using marijuana. Were you one of them?” Klein asked King.

“100 percent,” King answered, going on the record for the first time about his marijuana use during his NFL career.

King said marijuana helped him with anxiety and focus.

“Playing with it, laser sharp. I was laser sharp, laser focused,” King said.

“So, everyone knows you with the Giants, Lambeau Field, catching a touchdown pass from Eli Manning and you were high that game?” Klein asked.

“Yeah, yeah I was,” replied King laughing.

“You did your job,” Klein said.

“Yeah, I did my job,” King said.

NFL to help fund research into cannabis treatment for concussions

NFL to help fund research into cannabis treatment for concussions

cannabis treatment for concussions in the NFL

Researchers from the University of Regina are getting more than $500,000 US from the National Football League to study the potential of using cannabinoids for the prevention and treatment of concussions.

Cannabinoids are the naturally occurring compounds found in the cannabis plant.

The NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee, which said it wants to better understand and improve potential alternative pain management treatments for NFL players, put out a request for research proposals in June 2021.

The NFL said the U of R study is one of two to be awarded funding out of 106 submissions from top clinicians and researchers from around the world.

A study at the University of California San Diego that will be evaluating the effects of cannabinoids on pain and recovery from sports-related injuries in elite athletes is also receiving funding.

“We are grateful that we have the opportunity to fund these scientifically-sound studies on the use of cannabinoids that may lead to the discovery of data-based evidence that could impact the pain management of our players,” NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said in a release.

The U of R study will be led by Patrick Neary, an exercise physiologist and professor in the faculty of kinesiology and health studies, who has been working in the area of concussion prevention and treatment for more than 15 years.

Neary said his team’s selection by the NFL was “extraordinary, overwhelming news” and “a very, very humbling experience.”

Looking for optimal CBD/THC formulation

His team will try to optimize the formulation of cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) for pain management in those suffering from post-concussion syndrome and chronic pain, and for a neuroprotective treatment for concussions.

NFL Paying $1 Million to Fund Cannabis Research

NFL Paying $1 Million to Fund Cannabis Research

the NFL is funding cannabis research

After putting out a formal request for information about pain management alternatives to opioids in February, the NFL and NFL Players Association are providing $1 million to fund research on cannabinoids and pain relief, according to Front Office Sports.

“While this represents a different stance by the league, it’s still conservative compared to players who use cannabis or cannabis products – particularly CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that has gained mainstream acceptance,” per FOS.

The NFL did shorten the window during which it tests players for THC and raise the threshold to trigger a positive test last season, but players can still be fined several weeks’ salary and be forced to join a treatment program for testing positive for the inhibiting chemical in marijuana. Though it shouldn’t be the case, that currently makes the use of CBD – which both past and current players swear by – somewhat of a grey area in the NFL.

In the February information request, the NFL-NFLPA’s pain management committee said it was looking for information including:

  1. The potential therapeutic role of medications and non-pharmacological interventions that are considered to be alternatives to opioids in routine pain management of NFL players. Medications may include, but are not limited to, cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (“CBD”).
  2. The impact of cannabis or cannabinoids on athletic performance in NFL players.
  3. 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.

Nothing is for certain, but it seems like a good assumption the new funding will be used to delve into some of the areas mentioned above.

“This isn’t an NFL or a sports issue; this is a societal issue,” the NFL’s chief medical officer Allen Sills told Bloomberg.