[vincesanity82]

Let's be blunt.
If the NFL suspended every player who smoked marijuana, then on any given Sunday the number of athletes making touchdowns would be reduced significantly by the blunt-burners sent home to bake brownies.
In a game smeared with too many ugly headlines involving lawyers, guns and bail money, doesn't the league have worse things to worry about than if a player is using marijuana?
"It's crazy," Broncos running back Travis Henry said Wednesday, sitting comfortably on a picnic table at team headquarters and talking frankly about being suspended four games by the league in 2005 for smoking pot. "My opinion on it? I think a lot of people do it. A lot of people do it, but if you get caught, that's who is going to get fingered and pointed out. They're going to make an example of you."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell seems bent on cleaning up his game, booting players who are not good Boy Scouts.
Bravo for him.
But if the league wants to wage a war on drugs, let's concentrate on steroids or human growth hormone and not worry about spilled bong water. Unless a linebacker is plopped on the couch and listening to Radiohead, it's hard to imagine marijuana as a performance-enhancing drug.
In dangerous times, when Chicago Bears defender Tank Johnson was allowed to travel to the Super Bowl after being accused of storing a small arsenal of guns under his roof, should big brother really be concerned about which NFL players are blasting the chronic?
"C'mon, let's be serious," said Henry, who believes NFL officials know player use of marijuana is far from uncommon. "I know they know."
Of course, marijuana is not legal, despite what your nostrils might have suggested the last time you attended a concert at Red Rocks.
But in an era when baseball cannot pin steroid use on Barry Bonds and there's tainted blood staining the Tour de France, it seems maybe football should view Ricky Williams and his ganja habit as a dopey joke rather than a serious threat.
We bring this up because, fair or not, our local NFL franchise has marijuana issues of its own.
The Broncos might not be America's team. More like Jamaica's team, if you ask the hecklers destined to serenade Denver's arrival to stadiums across the country with renditions of "Legalize It."
In addition to showing Henry the money as a free agent, coach Mike Shanahan also drafted Florida defensive lineman Jarvis Moss and Marcus Thomas, who both got in trouble with marijuana as members of the Gators.
In a country where studies suggest more than 50 million Americans have tried marijuana, I say let the first baby boomer who has never inhaled cast the first stone.
But I also hear the complaints of concerned parents who think football heroes should be held to a higher standard.
"In my case, I got caught. So I'll deal with it. Gotta walk a straight line. I'm with it. I love football so much as to not (smoke). I'm not bitter," said Henry, who has lived for two years under the scrutiny of the NFL's substance-abuse program, which carries the real threat of a harsher punishment for a repeat offense.
"Life ain't fair. But I'm not hating on nobody. I ain't mad at 'em. I made my bed. I'm laying in it. I know this organization is counting on me to walk that straight line. Shanahan went out on a limb for me."
Trouble seems to be stalking the Broncos of late. Or has the team taken too many foolish risks?
After Denver receiver David Kircus was charged with second-degree assault for allegedly beating a man during a party at 3:20 a.m., there will be no rush to judgment here.
But it was a sad reminder.
Did the murder of cornerback Darrent Williams not teach the Broncos it's dangerous out in the street?
Might be safer for a football player to stay at home, lock the doors and burn a blunt.

The Denver Post - Weeding through NFL pot policy

[Bette]

Ok, as you may guess, here's a baby boomer that hasnt ever tried it.

The thing is,though, its still illegal.

[bballinyao06]

I've never tried marijuana but like Bette said, it is illegal and besides, even though the NFL has enough to deal with as it is, they still need to impose rules on their players. These players are contracted by NFL teams which means that they are paid to play professional football. If they get into trouble, it makes the league as a whole look bad. And also, I'm sure that the NFL commissioner and various team managers wouldn't want troublemakers or people getting high all the time working for them.

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by Bette

The thing is,though, its still illegal.

and that's the only thing that matters ........... no one is above the law

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Bette

Ok, as you may guess, here's a baby boomer that hasnt ever tried it.

The thing is,though, its still illegal.

neither have I...totally squeaky clean my whole life...(go figure)...so throw the book at them...mostly for being stupid and letting something like that take control of their careers and their lives...

[ThePundit]

You know what? You're making millions of dollars in a very short time span. Most NFL players' careers don't last more than 3 or 4 years. Can't they show enough will power to not smoke for such a short time?

[MJHMarc]

They can last as long as they want....on the benches.

[Bette]

Wow! 100% of those voting on this poll said the NFL SHOULD care about those who smoke pot. I am impressed.

[Haynr8dr]

Our nation's laws concerning Pot are Draconian to say the least. Argue all you want as to the "why" Pot is illegal - money, politics, racism - but not because it's dangerous.

Dr. Donald Tashkin is a world-wide renowned researcher with UCLA. He's an anti-marijuana advocate, the hired-gun of the Federal government and their law-enforcement entities, and has been extensively studying pot for over 30-years. His purpose has been trying to prove that pot is dangerous, more specifically, that long-term use of pot causes cancer. After "the most extensive study of it's kind" completed last year, and "against (his) expectations", Dr. Tashkin and his staff cannot prove that marijuana causes cancer. However, the study did conclude that long-term tobacco use increases your chances for cancer by 200-times. The fact is, marijuana has been in existence for over 3-thousand years, and there is no link between it's use and fatality. Consume an ounce of salt or sugar, and you've caused more harm to yourself than by consuming an ounce of weed - just the facts.

So, that would lead to the "why" - why is pot illegal? Statisics show that alcohol is the gate-way drug, and people die from it - even in a one-time use (yes, you can sit down with a bottle of booze, and if you consume it too fast, it can kill you - alcohol poisoning). At one-time, pot, cocaine, and opium were imported by big-business and our government. What happened?

Primarily lead by William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate, him and his cohorts used their power and money to lobby our law-makers to make these drugs illegal. It makes sense because, Hearst had a lot of money tied-up in the wood-pulp industry. And hemp-pulp has many more uses than wood-pulp. It can make all the same stuff wood can - and more. At one-time, all the rope used by the US Navy was made by hemp. Under the guise that these drugs, including pot made "the blackman a sex-crazed rapist", Hearst and his cohorts used their newspapers to advocate this message, and were able sway white-America and our law-makers to make these drugs illegal. And of course, they sent a little money congress' way - it's how business is done in America.

Money, politics, and racism - are the reasons pot is illegal.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Americans use pot in the privacy of their own homes. Mary Tyler Moore once described her (previous) pot-use to "an after-dinner martini". President Clinton smoked pot but, didn't enhale . Barack Obama - man who could be President, has admitted to smoking pot. In otherwords, many positive-contributing members of our society smoke pot. The mild narcotic affect of pot is preferred over other substances available, especially alcohol. I think you would be surprised at who smokes pot, primarily, because you could never tell. They did it in private, and there's no hang-over or other symptoms that may reveal that this person you respect smokes pot.

"He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man..." Pslams 104:14

Meanwhile, just because it's law, doesn't make it right. At one-time, it was "law" that people of color, and woman were second-class citizens - remember?

Most of what's contained in this post can be referrence in recent - and I might add - excellent exposés on Drugs in America presented by VH1, A&E, the History Channel, and National Geographic. I highly recommend them. Otherwise, I did my Political Science thesis on decriminalizing pot many, many years ago so, I know a little bit about the subject.

[Lefty Noob]

We're here to discuss the NFL's stance on pot, not the countries. Let me remind everyone that, according to forum rules, this is NOT a place to discuss politics, social reform, etc. etc. Whether you agree with our country's pot laws or not, this is not the place to discuss that.

[Haynr8dr]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

We're here to discuss the NFL's stance on pot, not the countries. Let me remind everyone that, according to forum rules, this is NOT a place to discuss politics, social reform, etc. etc. Whether you agree with our country's pot laws or not, this is not the place to discuss that.

It sounds like you may be posting to me. My long-winded post was only to explain the obvious. Marijuana is on the NFL's list of banned substances, not because it "enhances a player's performance", but because it's against the law.

I think that's an important point considering the ethnic make-up of the NFL, and the history related to pot (and other drugs). And, if like alcohol pot was legal, there's not much of a thread here.

Otherwise, I'm not advocating the use of pot but, in relation to this thread, I voted "no" and felt a need to explain.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by Haynr8dr

It sounds like you may be posting to me. My long-winded post was only to explain the obvious. Marijuana is on the NFL's list of banned substances, not because it "enhances a player's performance", but because it's against the law.

I think that's an important point considering the ethnic make-up of the NFL, and the history related to pot (and other drugs). And, if like alcohol pot was legal, there's not much of a thread here.

Otherwise, I'm not advocating the use of pot but, in relation to this thread, I voted "no" and felt a need to explain.

Well, see, I just didn't want people to get the wrong impression considering "NFL" doesn't appear once in your post, yet you discuss Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, among other social and political figures. I just want to be clear that we're not debating why pot is illegal or whether or not it should be, just that it is and whether or not the NFL should care if its players are partaking. That's all.