They reached the highest levels in sports and struggled with the injuries that go along with it. Now, a few former star athletes are making the case for cannabis as a safe and effective alternative to managing pain as opposed to prescription medications. The NFL has strict punishments for players caught using pot, like Todd Herremans when he was with the Eagles.
“I had to do whatever I could to stay on the field and produce,” he recalled. He turned to what the league allowed: “opioids, sleeping pills, anti-inflammatories, and a lot of alcohol.” But those took a toll of his body, further damaging it over two years.