Super Bowl XLVIII aka Marijuana Bowl, Stoner Bowl, Doobie Bowl

Timing is everything isn’t it?  Just when we voiced our opinion at Dat Dank about the NFL Commissioner’s comments about possible marijuana legalization in the NFL, destiny brought us a Super Bowl featuring the Seattle Seahawks vs. the Denver Broncos.  For those of you who have been keeping up with marijuana legalization, you may have put one and one together and noticed that these two teams represent states that are on the forefront of recreational marijuana legalization.  For those of you wondering why people are calling it the weed bowl, marijuana bowl, stoner bowl, or bong bowl, if you haven’t already heard, Colorado was the first ever state to legalize recreational marijuana regulated by the state government with the state of Washington soon to do the same.

What makes this significant in sports? Well nothing in particular because marijuana is still categorized as a banned substance in the NFL  and any other professional sports for that matter.  But what makes it significant at Dat Dank is the fact that, as  Seattle Pi puts it:  These two states aren’t “the only two states in the union (and two of only three places on the planet) where marijuana is not only legal but have a budding legal system for growing and selling will face each other in the Super Bowl.”  And with the statement made by Roger Goodell (Commissioner of the NFL)  regarding the possible legalization of medical marijuana use among players in the future, the Denver Bronco and the Seattle Seahawks facing off in  the Weed Bowl, er, Super Bowl in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium couldn’t have come at a better time for marijuana advocates and supporters in the United States.  I’m not complaining but imagine this game was played at Mile High Stadium back in Denver, we would be talking conspiracy as opposed to a high coincidence.

So this year, fill up the Doritos bowl, and pack a fat bowl, cause this game’s gonna be a doobie!

Commissioner States That NFL Could Legalize Medical Marijuana

We all know that the National Football League (NFL) has banned numerous players for the use of marijuana due to the league’s strict substance ban and abuse policy.  But this may no longer be the case in the near future.  The head commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell has opened up to the Associated Press about his stance on the NFL and marijuana use since the successful legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado at the beginning of this year.  According to ESPN reports, commissioner Goodell stated that he could envision a time when players could turn to marijuana to treat pain in states where medical marijuana has already been legalized:  “I don’t know what’s going to develop as far as the next opportunity for medicine to evolve and to help either deal with pain or help deal with injuries, but we will continue to support the evolution of medicine.”

The major setback from this issue being pushed faster is the league’s 10 year collective bargaining agreement.  Marijuana remains a prohibited drug under the NFL’s substance abuse policy and this agreement was last set in place in 2011 and isn’t set to expire until 2021.  The loophole pointed out by Rt.com shows that the CBA only bans the “illegal use of marijuana, meaning a potential gray area exists concerning situations and states where legal and medical marijuana is permitted.”

In a sport where players are beat and battered week after week with pain, the NFL would be a prime example for the sports world in which medical cannabis could properly be used and regulated for the benefit of the players and sports as a whole.  What do you think?