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NFL Awards $1 Million for Studies on Cannabinoids’ Effects
The National Football League (NFL) is awarding $1 million to 2 groups of medical researchers to study the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and neuroprotection from concussion, according to a report published on Tuesday by the Associated Press.
Out of 106 proposals initiated by the league and the NFL Players Association’s Joint Pain Management Committee in June 2021, researchers from the University of California San Diego and the University of Regina in Canada were selected to conduct the projects, which are expected to take 3 years.
The UCSD researchers, led by Thomas Marcotte, PhD, and Mark Wallace, MD, will examine the effects of cannabinoids on pain and recovery from injuries sustained by athletes. J. Patrick Neary, PhD, MA, and colleagues at the University of Regina will look at naturally produced cannabinoids for pain management and protection from concussion in contact sports.
“We’re always interested in trying to improve our approach and our treatment for acute and chronic pain in NFL players, and we always want to make sure that our players are receiving the most up-to-date medical consensus around any of these treatments,” NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen Sills, MD, tells the Associated Press.
“So, our burden of proof is really high for NFL players. Anytime we want to introduce a new therapy, we have to understand how that decision might impact their well-being and their performance. We know there’s been a lot of interest in this area, but we did not feel like there was a lot of great solid research on the benefits of marijuana, CBD, and treating acute and chronic pain. So, that’s why we wanted to try to contribute to the body of science in this area.”
Kevin Hill, MD, MHS, director of addiction psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and co-chair of the NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee, tells the Associated Press that NFL teams, medical staffs, and players have expressed interest to the league about cannabis and cannabinoids, and that advancing science on the substances was a critical first step to facilitating conversations.
“The NFL has done great research in other areas: concussions, musculoskeletal injuries, etc. We’re not limited just to cannabinoids. We’re interested in figuring out, are there ways that we can treat pain better? And so, we’re going to use this and look at this process and see if there’s a way that we can improve this process, but continue to try to advance the science in the interest of players health and safety.”
While cannabis remains a banned substance in the NFL, the league reduced penalties for players who test positive for marijuana and made changes to its testing procedures in its latest collective bargaining agreement with the player association. Players who test positive are now subject to monetary fines, but no longer face potential suspension.
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