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It looks like former Baltimore Ravens Left Tackle Eugene Monroe's campaign for medical marijuana in the NFL is progressing well. Now 30 former players are taking part in a study with Dutch Dr. Arno Hazekamp (whose last name actually sounds like it could be a name for a marijuana strain) to research whether the whole plant or isolated compounds from the plant work better to treat their ailments.
The outreach of Monroe and this new study has led to "productive dialogue" between the NFLPA and Dr. Marcel Bonn-Miller who is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. The same doctor has actually also spoken to 2 NFL officials as well but are said to be focusing on the NFLPA first because they are the people that would be most helpful.
"It's really with the PA more than it is the league at this point, because they're the ones from whom we need help," Bonn-Miller said to The Denver Post. "They're in the process of circling back around to us to continue the conversation about whether they can help us out."
This is all of course just the start of any conversation of medical marijuana and the NFL, and nobody should be surprised when the NFL still waits to change their rules on it until the Federal Government adapts theirs. As many people point out in this conversation, the NFL is highly unlikely to change anything in their rules to allow players to break federal laws and some state laws for players in states that don't allow medical use.
It is still a long, tough road ahead for this issue but it is encouraging to the conversation lighting up anyway. If medical marijuana can help them instead of the prescription painkillers that more and more people are becoming addicted to and overdosing on then they should be allowed it.
First thing is first though, and that is getting the proper research proving the benefits of medical marijuana. Thanks to Dr. Hazekamp's study with former Raider punter Chris Kluwe along with over two dozen other former players there is work being done to do that. However, this study is just one of many that will be conducted before permanent change could ever take place to allow players to use medical marijuana.
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