American football and marijuana

Last month, four former NFL athletes sat down in Toronto to discuss old injuries sustained during their playing careers, the rampant opioid addiction that now plagues the association, and the NFL's indecisive stance on cannabinoid use.

Midfielder Marvin Washington, Leonard Marshall, Eben Britton and Grant Mattos have spoken out about the injuries they've endured both during and after their playing careers to raise awareness and encourage current athletes.

The roundtable, hosted by cannabis site Herb, also delved into how cannabis helped deal with the pain and damage caused by the game. Marshall, a 12-year-old advocate, shared the benefits of CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid commonly used to treat chronic injuries.

"If football players are going to force NFL teams to phase out synthetic painkillers, I think they need to band together and form an alliance with each other regarding CBD use," he said. "The general public might think that these players want to get the most out of it, but a lot of people are looking to get healthy, and that's more than fair."

In recent months, the NFL has begun talking about allowing medical marijuana in the league. Officials wrote to the N.F.L community in July offering to work together to explore cannabis.

“We look forward to working with the association on all matters relating to the safety of our athletes,” Joe Lockhart, NFL Executive Vice President of Communications.

In recent years, Washington has spoken out about the physical consequences of professional football.