Eugene Monroe is known for taking hits on the field, a seven-year-and-counting offensive tackle; the NFL player is asking the League to allow for all his fellow players to use cannabis for their pains.
Monroe is advocating for medical marijuana and has already donated $80,000 to Realm of Caring, an advocacy group in Colorado aiming to help traumatic brain injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) with medical marijuana. CTE hit headlines hard earlier this year with the release of the movie, Concussion, starring Will Smith. CTE is a degenerative brain disease that can be caused by repeated hits to the head, a common occurrence on the football field.
“We now know that these drugs are not as safe as doctors thought, causing higher rates of addiction, causing death all around our country,” Monroe said in an interview with The New York Times on Friday, “and we have cannabis, which is far healthier, far less addictive and, quite frankly, can be better in managing pain.”
This week, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission met in Baltimore, Maryland to discuss the ongoing delays in the medical licensing program and Monroe, of the Baltimore Ravens, had a front row seat to the discussion.
At the U of Md. Listening to Dr. McPhearson speak. Piece on #cannabis reducing opioid burdens was significant pic.twitter.com/fcg8doZ4Gn
— Eugene Monroe (@MrEugeneMonroe) May 17, 2016
Monroe has said he does not personally use cannabis, however, he has called upon the league to stop testing players for it.
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Kate Bell of the Marijuana Policy Project issued a statement, asking the commission to at least give out the ID Cards; “An ID card would help patients use the existing affirmative defense, protecting them if they are arrested with their medicine.”
“While we appreciate that the commission is regulating an industry that is new to Maryland, this delay is unreasonable and unnecessary, and every day it continues is another day patients must suffer. Nine states were able to issue patient ID cards in less than one year, with the average being less than seven months,” stated Bell.
Maryland’s medical marijuana law took effect on June 1, 2014. Over 23 months later, no patients have been registered, no ID cards have been issued, and dispensary licensees are not expected to be announced until this fall.
Learn more about how the #IllegallyAlive campaign is educating the public on how prescription medication is killing 53 Americans every day. Visit IllegallyAlive.org for more information.
