Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Former NFL stars push pot for pain management
PITTSBURGH >> Four former NFL athletes, including former Eagles offensive guard Todd Herremans, came out of the “green closet” to voice their support for medical marijuana during the first-ever World Medical Cannabis Conference and Expo in Pittsburgh recently. At the hour-long “Sports and Cannabis” panel, they represented a new organization called Athletes for CARE and talked about the benefits of medical marijuana and finding alternative treatments to opiates and prescription anti-inflammatory medication for pain management. They also discussed helping athletes find success after they hang up their jerseys and retire.
“What we’re trying to do is educate people on cannabis,” Herremans said. “Advocate for it and try and get it re-regulated. We want it to be more accessible. We think it’s very healthful to the public. Personally it helped me throughout my career.”
Herremans, along with former athletes Marvin Washington, Eben Britton and Nate Jackson joined Lindie Snyder, a medical marijuana financial investor and daughter of the late Ed Snider, the owner of the Flyers and former chairman of Comcast Spectacor, and Kevin Provost, of Greenhouse Ventures, for the discussion. Each athlete had his own story about why they support medical marijuana use, but they tended to center around the issue of pain management and alternative treatments.
Herremans started using marijuana in college and preferred it to drinking alcohol, he said.
“I liked how it felt; it made me feel better,” he said. “It was more in line with my training methods. I was able to get back out the next day and not have an effect.”
Yet once he got into the league, he was forced to quit smoking marijuana for two years after failing a drug test. It was during that time he noticed his body deteriorating during the season more than it ever had before. Searching for ways to get back on the