Professional Athletes Should Be Allowed to Use Medical Marijuana Today's professional sports are extremely strenuous and exhausting, resulting in extreme and almost intolerable pain. "Former NBA players Jay Williams and Cliff Robinson have been outspoken advocates for cannabis in the NBA with Williams estimating that 80% of NBA players are already self-medicating with the plant" (Professional Athletes Call for Action on Medical Cannabis). Many other former professional athletes have also called for action to legalize medical marijuana, including the Golden State Warriors' head coach, Steve Kerr. The legalization of medical marijuana would drastically decrease the number of opioid overdoses while still reducing the pain of injury. Medical marijuana needs to be legalized for professional athletes, and their organizations (NBA, NFL, and the MLB) should no longer test for medical marijuana. Medical marijuana is an effective pain reducer, just like opioids. Most common opioids prescribed to athletes are chemically similar to heroin. Heroin is a highly addictive drug that is often abused. "Nearly 80 percent of Americans using heroin (including those in treatment) reported misusing prescription opioids prior to using heroin" (Heroin). Most assume that opioids are not harmful or addictive, because they are prescribed, but they are just as …show more content…
It simply relieves pain, while limiting the damages done to the body while attempting to cope with the pain. Marijuana is known for "slowing down the mind". The drug is not used to gain muscle, athletic ability, or any other advantage possible while being physically active in a professional sport. It can, however, reduce pain which can allow athletes to perform at their highest, but it does not increase their potential athletic ability. Athletes are banned from using Performance-Enhancing Drugs (PEDs), but they are different from medical