Jay Williams is advocating for marijuana to be accepted as a form of painkillers used by professional athletes.
The former Duke star and No. 2 overall draft pick by the Chicago Bulls had his basketball career derailed by a motorcycle injury that left him with severe leg damage, torn ligaments in his knee, and a broken pelvis. He says that during his time of recovery, many addictive painkillers with serious side effects were prescribed to him. He personally knows the dangers associated with being addictive to such painkillers, and that’s why he believes marijuana should be used as an alternative.
Williams wrote the following on The Players Tribune to support his view:
Our culture is progressive about a lot of things, but in some corners, marijuana is still vilified and misunderstood. I believe that marijuana, which many experts agree is less addictive and less prone to overdose than pain meds like OxyContin, must be an integral part of the conversation about how we treat pain in our everyday lives.
Today, marijuana is punished with steep fines and suspensions in our sports leagues. But pain isn’t going anywhere. Seeking to keep playing the sport they love, many athletes suffering from injury become dependent on the same types of doctor-prescribed painkillers I did in order to cope.
Whether it’s legal or not, many players in the NFL already smoke marijuana and use it for its beneficial properties, such as painkilling. MLB does not even test for marijuana.
Williams’ stance certainly makes sense, especially considering some states have already legalized marijuana. The one thing teams would have to worry about is making sure players would not take advantage and get high before games, which is something Williams says happened on the Bulls.
