Sam Hurd is facing the possibility of life in prison for attempted drug trafficking, but before he was an alleged cocaine kingpin, Hurd was a talented young receiver who liked to smoke weed.
Hurd, 28, who played with the Cowboys and Bears during a six-year NFL career, admitted during a recent interview with Michael McKnight of MMQB.com that he would smoke marijuana “all day, every day,” even during the season. Hurd became something of a marijuana connoisseur during his career, and he says he would even get some special strains shipped in from California at times.
“Whatever was considered the loudest weed in California — I wanted a notch above that,” Hurd said. “I had educated myself on different strains and potencies and growing techniques. I was very selective. It was like wine.”
Hurd, who in his “conservative estimation” believes “at least half” of all NFL players smoke week during the season, said that he would share the strains with about 20-25 of his teammates while with the Cowboys, selling the product at cost.
“I’m in the NFL, and I’m gonna ask people for a few hundred dollars on top of what I paid for it?” Hurd said. “Nah. Slide me what I got it for and take it. Enjoy it.”
If Hurd’s estimations and testaments are true, then the NFL’s drug-testing policy clearly isn’t as effective as thte public is led to believe. Fifteen players have been suspended under the league’s substance abuse policy this season, including Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon twice. Yet if half of the NFL’s near 2,000 active players, including the practice squad, are using marijuana, then something obviously isn’t working.
Hurd was arrested in a sting operation in 2011 for trying to buy and distribute large amounts of cocaine. He pleaded guilty to those charges in April and is now facing a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison to a maximum sentence of life without parole for his crimes. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday.
