Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Legalizing Cannabis in the NHL for Pain MUST be in NEW CBA

October 18, 2018, 12:59 PM ET [103 Comments]
Eklund
RSSArchiveCONTACT
It is official....

Cannabis is now 100% legal in all of Canada...

Getting beyond the fact that the Flames and Cnucks are both 4-2-0 in celebration, there is a MUCH more serious issue at hand...

With Marijuana now fully legal in Canada and at least legal for medical purposes in 30 of the United States it is time to make CBD legal for Pain in the NHL....By the way, looking at those 30 States only 4 NHL teams: the Dallas Stars, The St. Louis Blues, The Nashville Predators and the Carolina Hurricanes play in states where marijuana isn't AT LEAST legal for medicinal purposes...

We can debate all day long the moral aspects of Cannabis. I spent some time this year in Seattle and was around fully legal pot and all is not rosey there, believe me. Personally, I don't smoke or drink, but I don't have any issue with others doing so, nor do I think it should be illegal...Legalization should happen for pain everywhere and for recreation...that should be your own freedom of choice..However, like with anything, time will alert us to a number of "unintended consequences" down the line...As we learned with alcohol and "Pokemon Go" it takes time to understand all the aspects of something that on the surface is innocent enough, until one day you find yourself in front of a YMCA with your son battling some kid for a Bulbasaur...And Pokemon Go has its problems as well...

but seriously (I will be here all week folks)


No matter your political, religious, or otherwise moral agenda...it is pretty damn hard to say CBD, the non psychoactive part of the hemp and marijuana plants, isn't a wonder drug of sorts for pain and can be used to fight the opiod crisis in a huge way. And there is no denying the crisis in the US, Canada, and for the sake of this article....the NHL.

NHL players are often prescribed opioids to help them fight pain from injuries and they, like other humans, can easily get hooked on them.....Add to that the mere fact they are in a business where getting back on the ice as quickly as possible is a necessity and you can see the slippery slope we are on here.. Players, team doctors, coaches...everyone is being stretched to weigh the options of a percocet or two...

Currently Hemp-derived CBD lotions and tablets are actually legal in the United States already (and available on Amazon even) however the NHL drug testing issues aren't so clear...and Marijuana-derived CBD, which is far more effective once easily separated out from the psychotropic THC, is not legal everywhere......yet

Our sport sees players moving back and forth between Canada and the United States all the time...this is heading towards disaster...

A few years from now we may have another "L" word and since CBA's tend to be a decade long it isn't hard to imagine a world where Pot is fully legal almost everywhere by 2030...at least the CBD part for sure...So I fully expect this to be allowed in the next CBA in some way...and I don't see either side having much of an issue with it honestly...

But right now...there is a HUGE Time Bomb waiting to the NHL... Mike Richards’ situation bringing Opioids back into America from Canada is just the tip of this iceberg....and legalization won't mean that EVERYONE gets off opioids...but it could mean less get started down that path.

What do you think?

I would love for some of you to share some of your personal experience with Canibis, CBD, THC, and even Opioids....There are people out there who need help and if something is working for you, please feel free to share.
Join the Discussion: » 103 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Eklund
» 14 Games Tonight with SO Much on the line. Previews and Picks
» Best Night of Hockey Yet..With Drama, Comebacks, Upsets!..Picks;Wed's Buzz
» 12 HUGE GAMES. THE BUZZTRON TELLS YOU EXACTLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN...
» Buzztron 7-3 last night. New Tie in Projected President Cup; Mon's Buzz
» The Buzztron Wins another Night Calling Leafs and Rangers Wins. Tonight?