As marijuana becomes decriminalized or, in one form or another, legal across the country, what do you guys think should be the NFL's and the NCAA's response to this changing dynamic, if any?
The reason I ask this now is that this topic is always highlighted for me by the NFL draft. So many players experience major knocks leading up to the draft due to marijuana use or incidents. Obviously, excessive use of any drug, legal or not, is a major concern, but rarely is reasonable, recreational alcohol consumption considered a knock on players coming into the league even as research increasingly shows that tobacco and alcohol are far more dangerous health-wise (and, for the latter at least, debatably behaviorally as well) than marijuana. My reaction to these kids getting knocked for pot is generally that I'm not sure, with what we know now, that the response fits the "crime" any longer. I don't exactly have a solution (except for decriminalization within the league's drug policy) and obviously the league and the NCAA aren't going to give players carte blanche anytime soon (nor should they), but I'm curious what everyone else thinks...
The reason I ask this now is that this topic is always highlighted for me by the NFL draft. So many players experience major knocks leading up to the draft due to marijuana use or incidents. Obviously, excessive use of any drug, legal or not, is a major concern, but rarely is reasonable, recreational alcohol consumption considered a knock on players coming into the league even as research increasingly shows that tobacco and alcohol are far more dangerous health-wise (and, for the latter at least, debatably behaviorally as well) than marijuana. My reaction to these kids getting knocked for pot is generally that I'm not sure, with what we know now, that the response fits the "crime" any longer. I don't exactly have a solution (except for decriminalization within the league's drug policy) and obviously the league and the NCAA aren't going to give players carte blanche anytime soon (nor should they), but I'm curious what everyone else thinks...
