Marijuana use currently is banned in the NFL. But for how much longer?
The league recently wrote to the NFL Players Association in an effort to collaborate with the union to study the validity of marijuana as a pain reliever, the Washington Post reported Monday. The union already is conducting its own study and hasn’t responded to the league’s letter.
“We look forward to working with the Players Association on all issues involving the health and safety of our players,” Joe Lockhart, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, told the Post.
Although the league increased the threshold for a positive marijuana test in 2014, players still receive suspensions for violations. Many people, such as Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, have called on the NFL to end marijuana testing. But if the policy is going to be changed, it probably won’t happen until negations for the next collective bargaining agreement begin.
“It’s a great question,” Stephen Jones, a Cowboys executive and a son of Jerry Jones, recently said, via the Post. “I think it’s a debated question. Some people feel strongly we should address it now. I think some people feel that we’re close enough that you should wait and take care of it in one fell swoop when you sit down and bargain with the union.”
Still, it might be a while before we see an end to marijuana testing in the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell, for one, isn’t particularly keen on the idea.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
