Pubdate: Thu, 26 May 2016
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2016 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/press/letterstoeditor.html
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: Colton Lochhead

NFL LINEMAN CALLS FOR MARIJUANA RESEARCH

Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Eugene Monroe missed most of the 
2015 National Football League season after he tore a shoulder 
ligament against the Arizona Cardinals last October.

After having the torn labrum surgically repaired in December, doctors 
prescribed Monroe the usual gamut of opioid painkillers like 
oxycodone to manage his pain.

Pain is an accepted part of the profession for Monroe and other 
athletes. Before NFL games even start, players are shot up with the 
drug Toradol, which helps numb the body and relieve pain, he said. 
But Monroe said those numbing effects can be so strong that players 
often get seriously injured without knowing, sometimes not 
discovering the injury until days later.

Just days into his shoulder recovery, Monroe said things weren't 
right. He felt dizzy, lethargic, and generally "loopy."

"They were making me feel totally unlike myself," Monroe said. 
"Nothing worked."

So the 6-foot-5 inch, 300-pound Monroe stopped taking the opioids, 
and managed the pain as best he could using basic anti-inflammatory medication.

Monroe, who spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal before joining a 
panel at UNLV to discuss the need for marijuana research Wednesday 
morning, began looking for something besides the typical drugs the 
doctors were prescribing.

The 29-year-old lineman began research to better understand the 
medicinal uses of marijuana, and whether it could be an alternative 
to highly addictive prescription painkillers.

Now, Monroe is calling for the NFL, which bans use or consumption of 
marijuana or its extracts, to stop testing players for marijuana and 
instead start looking at it as a viable alternative to opioids. He 
echoed these comments in a first-person online essay he wrote for The 
Players Tribune on Monday.

Monroe joined state Sens. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, and Patricia 
Farley, R-Las Vegas, medical director at The Grove dispensary Sue 
Sisley and Brookings Institution fellow John Hudak as panelists at UNLV.

The group discussed the need for research in the area, especially 
with Nevada voters facing the choice of legalizing recreational use 
on November's ballot. All five noted how difficult it is to get both 
the funding and federal approval for such studies.

Sisley said it is easier to get approval for a study on heroin or 
cocaine than it is for one analyzing marijuana use. To get approved 
for a marijuana study, a group needs the OK from five federal 
agencies, compared with just three for most other drug studies, she said.

Hudak called the additional blockades of research "government 
corruption of science."

"It's an embarrassment that the government won't let medical 
professionals do the research needed on marijuana," Hudak said. "The 
government is coming between doctors and their patients."

Even people opposed to marijuana legalization should want scientific 
studies to move forward, Hudak said. Having scientific proof, whether 
it shows legitimate medicinal benefits or not, would give lawmakers 
the best information possible in crafting legislation.

Hudak and Monroe agreed that if the NFL were to lift its ban on 
marijuana, the public's perception of the drug could shift sharply.

"The NFL could be a great platform for social change," Monroe said. 
"If they're progressive on medical marijuana, that may have people 
take a look at it again and say, 'Hey, the NFL has done research and 
they see that it's medically viable for their athletes, maybe we 
should also take a look at it.'"

Monroe, who is entering his eighth NFL season, doesn't smoke or 
consume marijuana because of the league's stringent anti-marijuana 
policy, he said. But as he ages and his body and brain continue to 
pay the physical toll professional football demands, Monroe wants the 
NFL to look beyond the opioid culture that's been accepted for decades.

"It's a change that needs to happen," he said. "I don't want to have 
to take these drugs to continue playing football. I want a safer option."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom