Painkillers have been used in the National Football League (NFL) since the very start, but is it time for a change? With the growing acceptance of medical marijuana, should NFL repeal the ban for players. Medical marijuana and painkillers are both used to help chronic pain for their patients, but painkillers have been proving to be more addictive and cause more side effects. NFL players current and retired, face pain every day because of their long-lasting careers of physical abuse. Furthermore, the NFL should switch their use of medication to marijuana instead of painkillers because it has been proving to be safer and less addictive.

To start, opioids are extremely dangerous as it tends to leave its mark on players for years and years after they played. Opioids have been used for centuries as a tool to help medicate people during labor, surgeries, and illness. The NFL uses it to help their players deal with the pain they endure during in a season. There have been many cases in which players have experienced extreme health risks from abusing painkillers. There have been millions of deaths from using painkillers, yet there has never been a death on record from using marijuana. Opioids harm your organs. They suppress your respiration making it hard to breath. A football player could very easily overdose because they have an insane motive to play. If there is a big game, they will do anything to play in it. This could include taking too many painkillers when they aren’t subscribed to, which will lead to health risks in both the near and far future. Marijuana would be a good substitute because It has been proven to reduce pain with a less risk than painkillers. The most severe problems that would come the use of smoking medical marijuana are insomnia and respiratory problems. Insomnia is when a patient has trouble sleeping, which would only be a problem if one were to use cannabis right before sleep, or if they used to much of the medication. As scary as respiratory problems may sound, it is not as bad as one would think. Respiratory problems would only be a factor if someone were to already have lung problems such as asthma. If one were to have a history of lung problems, they are not advised to smoke medical marijuana, but can still use it in one of the other forms. Players would love to see the ban on medical marijuana lifted because it is proven much safer than the painkillers used today.

 To continue, opioids are extremely addictive. American citizens make up a small percentage of the world, yet they consume 75% of the world’s prescription drugs. Also, the tolerance for painkillers build up very quickly. This means a consumer needs to take more and more of a drug each time to receive a desirable effect. Not only this, but experts believe that the rise in heroin is also due to the rise in painkiller abuse. Not only is it very addictive, but it is also a gateway drug. A gateway drug is when one drug leads to harder, and even more harmful and addictive substances. Medical cannabis is the opposite. There is no evidence that you need to constantly up your dosage from developing a tolerance to it. Both medical marijuana and opioids have potential long-term effects, but marijuana is much safer. This is very important for the NFL because they would never have to worry about players using harmful drugs, due to their intake of painkillers, and if a player were to want to get off the substance, they would with little trouble. Player would be much happier and safer.

To conclude, the NFL should change their policy on medical marijuana. Medical marijuana has been proving to be safer than the painkillers used today, and proven to be less addictive. Players will be able to perform the same way, with less health risks at the end of the day if this change were to be made. Players would have the potential to have longer lasting careers as a result. There is no reason why painkillers are better for a player to take which should make the NFL lift their ban on medical marijuana.