{"id":41478,"date":"2020-03-04T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2020\/03\/04\/its-not-a-marijuana-free-for-all-for-professional-athletes\/"},"modified":"2020-03-05T00:46:36","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T08:46:36","slug":"its-not-a-marijuana-free-for-all-for-professional-athletes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2020\/03\/04\/its-not-a-marijuana-free-for-all-for-professional-athletes\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Not a Marijuana Free-For-All for Professional Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

When it was announced earlier this year during the offseason that professional baseball players were\u00a0no longer going to be drug tested for marijuana<\/a>, well, let\u2019s just say that the cannabis advocacy community considered it a homerun. It was progress. For the past several years, there has been a lot of chatter surrounding cannabis and athletes, some of which insists that these mofos should have the freedom to use it as an alternative to prescription drugs. But conflicting state and federal laws have the leagues a little apprehensive about going all-in with respect to anything weed-related. Still, the pressure is mounting. So, as an act of good faith \u2014 that is, to keep all of the reefer radicals off their backs \u2014 some pro sports leagues, including the MLB, have come to grips with the fact that it might be detrimental in this day and age to keep testing players for pot. Only, that doesn\u2019t mean that athletes can go full-blown stoner. It turns out there could still be some stiff penalties for those players who wear their pot consumption on their sleeves.<\/p>\n

Although the white coats of the MLB are not scouring player\u2019s systems this year for THC, a recent\u00a0memo<\/a>\u00a0obtained by ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan shows that marijuana use isn\u2019t exactly being embraced. The document indicates that players and team officials who \u201cappear under the influence of marijuana or any other cannabinoid during any of the club\u2019s games, practices, workouts, meetings or otherwise during the course and within the scope of their employment\u201d will be given a \u201cmandatory evaluation\u201d to determine if they need drug treatment. The league would then also have the choice to review the incident and determine the extent of their cruel and unusual punishment.<\/p>\n

In other words, the MLB isn\u2019t testing players for marijuana, but if management suspects that someone is stoned, there will be hell to pay.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, it appears that MLB is going all American authoritarian on its players, as well. In a report from the mighty Sports Illustrated, deputy commissioner Dan Halem\u00a0explained<\/a>\u00a0that the league still has the freedom to punish players who break state marijuana laws. So, while those dudes playing for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago Cubs are relatively safe from disciplinary action (both teams reside in areas where prohibition is no longer in effect), players with organizations like the St. Louis Cardinals could find themselves in deep trouble if they are caught in possession or driving under the influence. Because while it is true that medical marijuana is legal in 26 of the 30 cities where major leaguers do their thing, pot is only permitted in 11 jurisdictions for recreational use. The MLB still doesn\u2019t allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes, and it doesn\u2019t want it anywhere on the premises of team facilities, the document states.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that, despite all of the rules the MLB has for players regarding marijuana, it is still the league with the most progressive drug policies. The NBA continues to test for weed, even though some former players believe that as many as\u00a085% of pro ballers are getting high<\/a>. Some current players are also advocating for a change in the NBA\u2019s drug policy. All-Star Kevin Durant, who recently signed with the Brooklyn Nets, believes weed should be treated no differently than wine. \u201cIt\u2019s a plant that\u2019s put here for a reason, and that\u2019s to bring us together,\u00a0Durant said<\/a>. \u201cHopefully, it happens (eliminating marijuana from the banned substances list), especially in the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has\u00a0indicated<\/a>\u00a0that the issue is being discussed. But he wants to see more research. And the decision the NBA makes must also take into account how it influences young fans. \u201cWhen we change our policy, we have to be really careful because we\u2019re clearly sending a message to young people,\u201d\u00a0he said<\/a>. \u201cJust like with alcohol, you have to teach young people how to use a substance appropriately and responsibly, so it doesn\u2019t overwhelm your life. It\u2019s a complicated issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about the NFL? Well, the league still hasn\u2019t embraced marijuana for medical use, but it is taking a more relaxed attitude towards those players who use it. The latest collective bargaining agreement, which was just made official, eliminates the possibility of game suspensions for players who test positive for THC. It would also reduce other penalties associated with this offense. The deal includes \u201cdramatically reduced penalties, with suspensions happening only in the event of extreme and repeated disregard of the policy or significant violations of applicable law regarding the possession and use of marijuana,\u201d\u00a0according to NBC Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still going to be a minute, however, before players are allowed to use marijuana the same as alcohol. Sure, professional sports leagues are starting to come around concerning drug testing and the penalties associated with pot, but they aren\u2019t letting players totally off the hook. Perhaps the cannabis issue in professional sports is, as Jerry Seinfeld once\u00a0said<\/a>, like knocking over a Coke machine. \u201cYou can\u2019t do it in one push. You gotta rock it back and forth a few times, and then it goes over.\u201d<\/p>\n

TELL US,<\/strong>\u00a0does your favorite player support marijuana?<\/p>\n

The post It\u2019s Not a Marijuana Free-For-All for Professional Athletes<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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When it was announced earlier this year during the offseason that professional baseball players were\u00a0no longer going to be drug tested for marijuana, well, let\u2019s just say that the cannabis advocacy community considered it a homerun. It was progress. For the past several years, there has been a lot ofContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1389,50,99,484,5168,2201,969,420],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41478"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41479,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41478\/revisions\/41479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}