Are So Many NFL Players Really Using Marijuana?

Cannabis use in professional sports is becoming increasingly common. In a recent interview, a former professional athlete said that he believes over 80% of professional soccer players use cannabis.

Tavarres King, who was a professional NFL player for over seven years and played for the Georgia Bulldogs, is now involved in the cannabis industry. He told an Atlanta news channel, “I would probably say about 80% of the guys in our league use cannabis,” including himself in that percentage of “100 percent.”

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“I play with it, laser-sharp. I was laser sharp, laser focused,” King explained. Marijuana helped him manage his anxiety and helped him focus when he needed it most. When asked about smoking alongside key players before key games, King said he still uses cannabis to his advantage. “I did my job.”

King is CEO of Suite 420 Access and Rowdy Wellness, two cannabis companies, the former facilitating minority entry into the cannabis industry and the latter selling cannabis wellness products.

“My first love of football led me straight to my current career as an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry,” he recently told MG Magazine. “Playing in the NFL, with all the daily physical, mental and emotional challenges, has taught me a lifelong lesson that if I put my mind to it, I can achieve anything.”

Discussing his interest in the cannabis industry, he said, “I absolutely love this industry – the opportunities it brings, the health and wellness aspects, the business and financial strategies and most importantly, that it’s still about an emerging industry with more room for growth. ”

Photo by Elsa Olofsson via Unsplash

King joins a growing cadre of professional athletes who believe in cannabis and what it can do for their bodies and performance. Players from the NBA, NFL, MLB and more have all shared their in-game cannabis use and how the drug has helped them achieve their goals and stay focused during moments of high stress.

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From using marijuana as a pain reliever to helping athletes stay focused, cannabis is becoming a topic that is becoming more openly debated. Yet sports leagues remain reluctant to use it, testing it and generating controversy from a drug that is increasingly accepted and legalized and is not a performance enhancer despite the many caveats that may exist.