Top NFL doctors set up conference call with marijuana advocates

The NFL has a longstanding history of being hard on drugs, but only illegal drugs. Legal prescription pain killers are enough to numb the pain and get players back on the field, but the long term damage and addiction that comes with some of these drugs is causing more harm than good. While many former NFL players have come out in support of marijuana research as an alternative to opioid pain killers, only one active player is standing up - Eugene Monroe. Monroe has helped fund marijuana research at Johna Hopkins University with an $80,000 donation, and it looks like he got the NFL's attention. By the leagues request, some of the NFL's top medical officials held a conference call with the reserach group funded by Monroe. In the past, the NFL commissioner has been dismissive about anything marijuana related, but the willingness to take the conference call and see what researchers have to say is a big step towards progress.

“They are interested in learning more about the potential for cannabinoids to help current and former players, as is evidenced by them taking the call, and also expressed a desire to learn more,” said Marcel Bonn-Miller, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania school of medicine. “They are definitely showing genuine curiosity, and they are definitely not throwing up roadblocks.”