Can NFL players smoke weed or marijuana? Here is all you need to know
Marijuana testing has been prevalent in sports for quite a long time. Athletes testing positive for marijuana faced lengthy bans or had to put up with exorbitant fines.
Gone are those days. With a concise and proper use of marijuana providing a lot of benefits, the aversion towards the substance has reduced in recent times.
And likewise in the NFL, the players have been allowed to smoke weed for the first time during the 2021 offseason.
This comes in the wake of a new and updated Marijuana policy that came into effect from the 20th of April, 2021.
The NFL declared that there wouldn’t be testing for Tetrahydrocannabinol – a substance predominantly found in marijuana, during the offseason from the 20th of April to the 9th of August.
However, testing for the same will be done before the beginning of pre-season, according to the updated policy.
Even if the athlete tests positive for THC, he will be reviewed by a panel of medical experts, and only after that, the required formalities would be done.
Failing to comply with the testing is the only way to get into trouble during THC testing hereafter.
The old marijuana policy was stringent
The old rules were too strict. The athletes were tested during the regular season, going along with one test during the offseason as well.
The regular season testing saw 10 players from a team being selected randomly. Upon failing the test – a referral to the substance abuse program.
Failing two or three times resulted in fines. 4 times, 5 times and 6 times resulted in 4-game suspension, 10-game suspension and a season-long ban respectively.
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