As the world focuses on the Olympic games and all the amazing athletes in Rio, there is another set of athletes here at home that could use some help.
These athletes are the men that comprise the National Football League – the football players that we all know and love and follow every fall football season.
Most of these guys are young men in the prime of their health with their whole adult lives still in front of them.
A player with talent will play, on average, about six or seven years, often retiring before the age of 30. But during that short time playing, their bodies take an almost daily beating, the likes of which most of us will never experience. They sustain an astronomical number of direct hits that not only negatively impact their bodies, but also their brains. The high number of concussions a player experiences is no secret to any of us anymore. Theres even a feature film that has been made on the subject.
Of course, the players are treated with conventional pharmaceuticals like Celebrex for inflammation and Vicodin or Percocet for pain, all of which come with negative side effects.
Cannabis can not only be used to treat both inflammation and pain, but it can also help in the recovery process after a concussion. Recent studies have shown that consuming cannabis will decrease the recovery time after a concussion and will inhibit the bruising that occurs on the brain. It also helps treat the pain from the headaches that can often occur after a concussion. In fact, the same research also suggests that consuming even tiny amounts of cannabis on a regular basis can be proactive in actually protecting the brain when a concussion occurs.
The problem is the NFL still considers cannabis as a banned substance. Even though it can naturally treat many of the ailments players complain about, and even though it can help mitigate the symptoms of concussions and possibly even help protect the brains of players, it remains a banned substance.
The amount of research and science is small – it needs to be bigger. The bigwigs at the NFL wont even look at it until the studies and research are done, even though there are numerous retired players who can give them first-hand accounts of the ways in which cannabis has helped them since their retirement.
One possible catalyst that could push this topic toward acceptance, though, is the very real possibility that the DEA may reschedule cannabis soon. They have hinted at this possibility for quite some time now, and there are some who believe it could happen as soon as the end of this summer. If cannabis were rescheduled from schedule 1 to a schedule 2, or even de-scheduled all together, then that would open the avenues for medical research, which would only point back to the obvious – cannabis can help.
The benefits of this plant are only beginning to become apparent to the masses, but I guarantee that if it is found that cannabis can help protect the great American game of football and its coveted players, then the push to allow players to utilize it will be overwhelming.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Cannabis A Solution For NFL Injuries
Author: Erica Freeman
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Photo Credit: Coloradoan
Website: Coloradoan
