I know, you’re thinking, “So what does this have to do with marijuana?”

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brett Favre has decided to retire from the NFL after 17 seasons. FOX Sports first reported Tuesday that the Green Bay Packers quarterback informed the team in the last few days. ESPN.com said that according to Favre’s agent the quarterback told coach Mike McCarthy of his decision.

Well, nothing really. I’m just a huge Green Bay Packers fan and this is really bumming me out today. However, I do have some thoughts on what this does have to do with marijuana… click on the link below to read the

See, at one point in his career, Brett Favre had an addiction to painkillers. It’s no surprise, since he is the NFL’s all-time Ironman, playing in 258 consecutive starts. That’s quite a feat, and probably not one that’s acheivable without painkillers at some point. Brett courageously admitted he had a problem and got some treatment. The fans didn’t hold it against him and he’s acheived near mythic status among them.

But would the country have forgiven Brett Favre if he had been popped for failing a marijuana test? Surely, Brett Favre the former pill addict is a national hero. But Brett Favre the pothead would never be given that status.

The list of NFL players who’ve had issues with the NFL for their marijuana use is long. It starts with Ricky Williams, the talented back who played with New Orleans and Miami, and the list includes many more players who have at one time or another been suspended, fined, admonished, or traded for their marijuana use.

These men who put their bodies through the abuse and pounding of the NFL are encouraged to use addictive opioid painkillers all the time. Team doctors are quick to keep the star player out on the field - injuries cost money. But if one of these players should use a non-addictive, non-toxic herb to control pain, they are in violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

Besides its prohibition, the NFL cites the “what message does it send to the kids” line when justifying the ban on marijuana (they certainly couldn’t cite the “performance enhancement” angle). Well, what message does it send the kids when Dr. Feelgood is allowed to pump our kids’ sports heroes full of dangerous novacaine, lydocaine, what-have-you-caine, but we punish them for making the smart decision to use something safer?

Tags: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, NFL

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 8:19 am and is filed under Celebrity Tokers, Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a trackback from your own site.