A commission formed between the NFL and the league\u2019s players union plans to award up to $1 million in grants for researchers to investigate the therapeutic potential of marijuana, CBD and other alternatives to opioids for treating pain.<\/p>\n
At a press conference on Tuesday, a representative from the NFL-NFLPA\u2019s Joint Pain Management Committee (PMC) said \u201cclearly there are a lot of great ideas in this space and there\u2019s a lot of important research that needs to be funded.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked by Marijuana Moment if the ongoing prohibition of cannabis as a Schedule I drug is to blame for the relative lack of definitive science on cannabis\u2019s effects, PMC cochair Dr. Kevin Hill said the federal policy \u201cdefinitely adversely affects the level of research that is allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, Hill also pointed to a lack of funding into this area of research and said it \u201caffects it more adversely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a lot of folks\u2014both states and companies\u2014who are profiting considerably through the sale of cannabis and other cannabinoids, and most of those groups are not contributing to the science,\u201d he said, \u201cI think that\u2019s one of the great things about this request for proposals is that obviously the players are stakeholders and we want them to have the best in terms of pain management, so we\u2019re interested in trying to find out some of the answers that people have been saying that they\u2019re interested in for a number of years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grant funding opportunity is meant to \u201csolicit proposals from investigators who have the current capability to carry out studies aimed at supplementing the PMC\u2019s knowledge about pain management and athletic performance in elite football players,\u201d a description states.<\/p>\n
The league specifically wants proposals on three areas of inquiry:<\/p>\n
Pre-proposal applications are due by July 31, the NFL notice<\/a> states.<\/p>\n The committee issued an initial request for information on the issue in February<\/a>, and was given a series of primary research objectives. That included exploring whether substances such as marijuana or CBD could replace opioids for routine pain management in players and the impact of cannabinoids on athletic performance.<\/p>\n The joint NFL-NFLPA committee held two informational forums on CBD last year<\/a>, and while their initial findings were not definitive, PMC determined that the non-intoxicating cannabis compound shows promise in the treatment of some forms of pain, but the science doesn\u2019t currently live up to the \u201chype.\u201d<\/p>\n The panel \u201creally felt there was not enough research and information on benefits of other alternatives to opioids for both acute and chronic pain\u201d after those forums, a representative said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the league\u2019s\u00a0drug testing policy changed demonstrably<\/a> last year as part of a collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n Under the policy, NFL players will not face the possibility of being suspended from games over positive tests for any drug\u2014not just marijuana.<\/p>\n The decision reflects a significant shift in the league\u2019s approach to drug use by players, with the agreement emphasizing the need to focus on \u201censuring evaluation and treatment\u201d rather than punishment. Now those who test positive for drugs, exhibit behaviors that indicate drug misuse or self-refer themselves will be required to enter an \u201cintervention program\u201d where they would receive an evaluation and treatment plan.<\/p>\n Testing positive for prohibited substances after that point would result in a half-week salary loss for first violations, a one-week salary loss for second violations, a two-week salary loss for third violations and a three-week salary loss for fourth and subsequent violations. The threat of suspensions would be removed.<\/p>\n In a similar vein, the MLB decided in 2019 to\u00a0remove cannabis from the league\u2019s list of banned substances<\/a>. Baseball players can consume marijuana without risk of discipline, but officials clarified last year that\u00a0they can\u2019t work while under the influence<\/a>\u00a0and can\u2019t enter into sponsorship contracts with cannabis businesses, at least for the time being.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a temporary NBA policy\u00a0not to randomly drug test players for marijuana<\/a>\u00a0amid the coronavirus pandemic may soon become permanent, the league\u2019s top official said in December. Rather than mandate blanket tests, Commissioner Adam Silver said the league would be reaching out to players who show signs of problematic dependency,\u00a0not those who are \u201cusing marijuana casually.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Connecticut Governor Says Senate-Approved Marijuana Legalization Bill Will Be \u2018Model\u2019 For U.S. As House Prepares To Vote<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Image element courtesy of Marco Verch<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post NFL Funds Marijuana Research As Federal Prohibition \u2018Adversely\u2019 Impacts Studies Into Opioid Alternative For Players<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A commission formed between the NFL and the league\u2019s players union plans to award up to $1 million in grants for researchers to investigate the therapeutic potential of marijuana, CBD and other alternatives to opioids for treating pain. At a press conference on Tuesday, a representative from the NFL-NFLPA\u2019s JointContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[99,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48134"}],"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\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48134"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48135,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48134\/revisions\/48135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: NFL Funds Marijuana Research As Federal Prohibition \u2018Adversely\u2019 Impacts Studies Into Opioid Alternative For Players<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"