A startling revelation came out of the mouth of Steelers’ safety Ryan Clark that members of his team smoke weed.
“A lot of it is stress relief. A lot of it is pain and medication. Guys feel like, ‘If I can do this, it keeps me away from maybe Vicodin, it keeps me away from pain prescription drugs and things that guys get addicted to. Guys look at this as a more natural way to heal themselves, to stress relieve and also to medicate themselves for pain. Guys are still going to do it,” Clark said in an interview with ESPN.
Clark went on to state that he never smoked weed and he has no plans to start.
The use of medicinal marijuana has been in the news since the beginning of 2014. In a previous article in rolling out, it was indicated that the NFL is open to the idea.
“I don’t know what’s going to develop as far as the next opportunity for medicine to evolve and to help either deal with pain or help deal with injuries, but we will continue to support the evolution of medicine,” said NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell.
It seems, like it or not that evolution is here, according to Clark’s statements. Clark talked openly about avoiding being caught in NFL drug screening process.
“There’s one random test during OTAs and mini-camps in the off-season and everybody will be tested early in training camp. After that, there [are] no more tests, so guys understand the ways to get around failing the drug test.” Clark said during the interview.
There have been numerous incidents involving NFL players and pot use over the years, but the reality is the trickle down effect on the nation’s youth. Kids who play sports now will have role models who smoke weed. There are going to be many young people who will copy that example. How will America stay ahead of the curve on the weed issue? President Obama is definitely pro decriminalization and pro legality. But no social programs have been planned or put in place to deal with the ramifications of this change in social policy.
