Athlete

Are This Many NFL Players Really Using Cannabis

Are This Many NFL Players Really Using Cannabis

According to a former NFL player, Tavarres King, approximately 80% of professional football players could be using cannabis. The revelation comes as the use of marijuana in sports is becoming increasingly common. 

King played football for the University of Georgia Bulldogs for seven years and has now shifted into the cannabis sector.

“Playing with it, laser-sharp. I was laser-sharp, laser-focused,” King told an Atlanta news station

He added that cannabis helped him deal with anxiety, besides enabling him to concentrate. Today, the former NFL player is the CEO of Suite 420 Access which facilitates the entry of minorities into the marijuana industry. 

He is also the co-founder of Rowdy Wellness, which sells cannabis wellness products. The sector’s wellness products market is steadily rising and has attracted various personalities.  

King also told MG Magazine that his love for football directly guided him into his present career as an entrepreneur in the cannabis sector. 

He added that the daily physical, mental, and emotional challenges when playing in the NFL taught him lifelong lessons of achieving anything when he puts his mind to it. 

King stated that the marijuana industry opened innumerable opportunities in the health aspect and from a business standpoint.  

The former football player joins a growing cadre of professional athletes who believe in marijuana and what it can do to their bodies. Various players from the MLB, NFL, and NBA have disclosed their cannabis use during matches and how the drug helped them achieve their goals and remained focused in highly intense moments.  

Drug testing for THC in sports has been a hot topic for a long time. 

Considering that various states are reforming their cannabis laws, the perception surrounding the drug seems to be changing. With the NBA stopping random drug testing, it is a clear sign that things have started shifting. 

Nevertheless, the basketball league still tests performance enhancement drugs that give the players who use such substances an unfair advantage. 

Federal prohibition of marijuana was one of the factors that contributed to its ban on sports. Considering that many professional athletes use marijuana, imposing a zero-tolerant policy for cannabis on the NFL or NBA could be detrimental to the respective sporting leagues. 

Additionally, nearly half of the U.S. has legalized medical and recreational cannabis. Hence, it is quite erroneous to think that cannabis use does not influence sports bearing in mind that teams usually represent particular states. 

Plus, many teams across various leagues also come from states that have legalized the drug.   

Since marijuana possesses medicinal properties, many have started to consider its use as a recovery drug in sports. Still, more research about the correlation between THC and performance needs to be conducted.

The recent inclusion of cannabis research in the infrastructure bill will help reveal the scope and potency of cannabis treatment in sports. 

Already, several athletes are using cannabinoids and have included them in their daily practice and routine. The working process of cannabinoids is quite simple. Once consumed, it interacts with the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) in the body, affecting pain, appetite, and immune functions, among other processes. 

The rigorous practice athletes undergo usually leaves them with pain, sprain, or injury. Thus, the use of cannabis in treating these conditions is becoming increasingly popular in the sporting industry. 

The drug can be utilized in many ways, with some choosing to use tinctures and topicals. Still, others opt to ingest or use glass bongs to get an overall effect. 

Athletes have also said that marijuana enables them to calm down before playing tough, determining matches. 

study focusing on the maze performance of rats showed a direct correlation between cannabis use and improved performance. Perhaps this is why athletes believe cannabinoids help them concentrate while playing. 

Cannabis was prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2004 due to its ability to influence a person’s normal function. Although the substances alter athletes’ performance, researchers are still unaware of the full extent of how it changes functionality. 

Many people are also supporting research works that would enable us to understand the products better. 

From its use as a painkiller to aiding athletes to stay on top of their game, marijuana is becoming a subject that is being openly discussed in the sporting industry. Although cannabis reforms are happening, various sports leagues have remained silent on the topic and continued with their routine testing. 

As federal cannabis reforms may soon be possible, many watch how the sports industry will respond to nationwide cannabis legalization. 

Reading next

Willie Nelson’s Not-So-Subtle Super Bowl Ad
Sha’Carri Richardson, Suspended Over Marijuana, Suggests Racist Double Standard After Olympics Lets Russian Skater Compete Amid Doping Scandal

Leave a comment

All comments are moderated before being published.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.