Pubdate: Thu, 17 Mar 2016
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2016 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Jonathan Pitts

RAVEN PRESSES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Ravens left tackle Eugene Monroe has missed nearly half the team's 
games over the past two seasons, battling knee and ankle injuries in 
2014, the concussion he sustained in the opening game of 2015 and the 
shoulder injury that ended his season.

To deal with the pain, the seven-year veteran would like to use 
medical marijuana, which has been legal in Maryland since 2014.

But because it's on the National Football League's list of banned 
substances, he would face a suspension if he tried.

It's out of frustration, Monroe says, that he has unleashed a barrage 
of tweets in support of the drug, breaking a silence among active 
players on the subject.

Monroe, 28, called on the NFL to support research into medical 
marijuana, tore into NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and encouraged 
fellow players to "stand up" for a cause he says won't benefit only 
them but individuals in all walks of life.

The tweets, including 37 posted in one two-hour span on Tuesday, 
ranged from angry to idealistic - a mix Monroe said "has gotten a lot 
of reaction."

"We all love the game!" he wrote in one tweet. "Let's do some 
research to protect the players who make it great." Then he 
challenged other players to donate to research.

"The reaction I'm getting from players is very positive," he told The 
Baltimore Sun during a break from training at the Ravens' practice 
complex this week.

"It has been very positive from nonplayers, too."

He said he had been contacted by "families who have had their very 
sick loved ones healed by doctor-prescribed CBD," or cannabidiol, a 
chemical in the cannabis plant that is used for medicinal purposes.

"They've told me it was their last option, and it has actually 
changed their lives," he said.

"What I'm talking about is something that can be very beneficial to a 
lot of people, not just athletes."

The comments by Monroe - who first spoke on medical marijuana in an 
interview with CNNlast week - come as the NFL has acknowledged for 
the first time a link between football-related brain injuries and 
chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

Jeff Miller, the league's senior vice president for health and 
safety, spoke of the link on Monday before the House Committee on 
Energy and Commerce.

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized the 
use of medical marijuana, and17states regulate oils derived from 
marijuana plants. But the NFL, the National Basketball Association 
and Major League Baseball bar players from using the drug for any purpose.

All offer treatment for players who test positive for marijuana for 
the first time. But they also hold out the possibility of suspensions 
for repeat offenders, or for those who fail to follow their treatment plans.

The National Hockey League does not list the drug as a banned 
substance, but it monitors use through testing.

Individual teams may discipline users according to applicable state 
or provincial laws.

Goodell addressed his league's policy, which both the NFL and the 
players' union approved in their current collective bargaining 
agreement, during Super Bowl Week.

"It's an NFL policy [to ban all cannabis use] and we believe it's the 
correct policy, for now, in the best interest of our players and the 
long-term health of our players," he said.

Goodell said science has advanced understanding of how marijuana can 
be used medically. But he said it hasn't learned enough to prompt a reversal.

"I agree there has been changes, but not significant enough changes 
that our medical personnel have changed their view," he said. "Until 
they do, then I don't expect that we will change our view." Monroe 
has ripped Goodell on Twitter. "It's a shame that Roger Goodell would 
tell our fans there's no medical vs recreational distinction," he wrote.

"If I'm a fan, I'm [angry] at the time I wasted listening to Goodell 
lie to me at the Super Bowl. As a player I sure am."

Reached for comment, an NFL spokesman reiterated that the league and 
players worked together to develop the current rules.

"The substances of abuse policy is collectively bargained and is a 
joint NFLNFLPA program," said Brian McCarthy, a league vice president 
for communications. "We are guided by medical advisers. They have not 
indicated a need to change."

Kevin Byrne, a spokesman for the Ravens, said Monroe's views on the 
subject "are Eugene's thoughts"and declined to comment further.

The NFL Players Association declined comment.

Monroe, a University of Virginia star who was picked eighth overall 
in the 2009 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, told CNN last week 
that playing professional football "automatically gives you the 
symptom of chronic pain."

"You're hitting each other as hard as possible every single day in 
practice," he said. "Your body is in pain a lot of time." Monroe 
acknowledged that other drugs, such as opioids, may be used to treat 
pain, but he said players are wary of their addictive properties. He 
went further on Twitter. "Any coach, GM, fan or owner concerned about 
the player being 'high' should know that they already are, on 
prescribed opiods," he wrote.

Monroe said anecdotal evidence suggests that medical marijuana might 
have beneficial effects for those who suffer from CTE.

"I'm not here advocating smoking weed for recreational purposes," he 
wrote. "However, smoking weed may just protect your brain."

Monroe said he would donate $10,000 to the Realm of Caring 
Foundation, a 3-year-old nonprofit based in Colorado that works with 
hospitals, doctors and patients to collect data on cannabis products 
and to advocate for medical marijuana use.

Dr. Ryan Vandrey, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral 
sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, works 
with the foundation. He helps to gather and interpret information 
from the more than 5,000 medical marijuana users on its patient registry.

Vandrey, who has worked in the field for 16 years, says the study of 
medical marijuana use is still in its earliest stages. Most of the 
research so far has focused on how cannabinoids - chemicals that act 
on human neuroreceptors - can be used to treat pain or seizure 
disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Vandrey said.

But he said there are many anecdotal reports of "much broader health benefits."

The foundation is trying to gather those anecdotes, "then use that 
information to form hypotheses that we can then test in studies," he said.

Advocates looking to effect change might have to wait until current 
collective bargaining agreements expire.

For Major League Baseball, that happens this December. For the NBA, 
it occurs next year. The NFL's doesn't end until 2021.

Monroe says it's too early to gauge the impact of his comments.

He says several fellow players told him they were glad someone 
finally spoke up. But he hasn't heard from any who pledged to donate.

As far as he's concerned, he says, the case for more research is 
obvious, and for more than just the men who take to the field on Sundays.

"These are families in our country in grave need of alternatives to 
our current medical options," he said.

"I would hope that anyone who saw my messages, who took a non-biased 
look at them, will see that [medical marijuana] is something that can 
benefit all kinds of people.

"It's just common sense to look into it more."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom