April 14, 2005

I never knew marijuana was a performance-enhancing drug. : Four potential NFL draftees test positive.

posted by lil_brown_bat to football at 02:25 PM - 45 comments

it depends on what one is performing.

posted by garfield at 02:38 PM on April 14, 2005

IT MAKES YOU GREAT.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:43 PM on April 14, 2005

Well at least the NFL tests for it-

posted by daddisamm at 02:59 PM on April 14, 2005

they should test for boozers

posted by garfield at 03:18 PM on April 14, 2005

oh wait, that's a socially acceptable drug. nevermind.

posted by garfield at 03:36 PM on April 14, 2005

I fail to see why any professional sports league should care if anyone is burning the herb.

posted by holden at 03:58 PM on April 14, 2005

What's the word that means the opposite of enhance? Cuz that's what mary jane does. Oh, sure, she makes music better, she makes movies better, she makes sleep better, she even makes sex better -- mary enhances all those things & more. But she doesn't improve athletic performance any more than her retarded distant-cousins beer and cigarettes do. Leave mary alone. This is a dumbass rule.

posted by the red terror at 04:39 PM on April 14, 2005

Reguardless if you think its ok or wrong to smoke weed, it is still illegal to do so. It doesnt matter whether its a profesoinal league or not. Illegal is illegal. I think if its said to be preformance enhancing its ludacris. But nevertheless its illegal.

posted by jamesasteven at 04:46 PM on April 14, 2005

I don't think its ludacris, but to chip in my 50 cent I do think that its ridiculous. In any event, I am unmoved by the argument that its illegal. There are many illegal activities for which the NFL does not suspend its players.

posted by holden at 05:02 PM on April 14, 2005

they should test for boozers posted by garfield at 3:18 PM CST on April 14 maybe they should

posted by daddisamm at 05:05 PM on April 14, 2005

I am a bit confused, weed was never called a performance enhancing drug in the article.

posted by daddisamm at 05:09 PM on April 14, 2005

It's interesting that in the baseball thread about steroids, many people claimed it was OK to discipline those caught using steroids harshly even if it wasn't in the rules because illegal is illegal. But, but now that it's everyone's favorite should-be-legalized-illegal-drug, they shouldn't get in trouble.

posted by jmd82 at 05:59 PM on April 14, 2005

I am a bit confused, weed was never called a performance enhancing drug in the article. Next time I'll include the irony emoticon. Meanwhile, I'll just quietly give thanks that we haven't quite gotten to the point where every employer in the United States feels entitled to investigate into every possible illegal activity that its employees might be up to, on their own time and off company premises.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:35 PM on April 14, 2005

I'm with Holden. Who gives a fuck?

posted by squealy at 06:44 PM on April 14, 2005

Weed makes a better hitter, slows the reaction time so that the hitter can hit the change-up better...

posted by chris2sy at 06:54 PM on April 14, 2005

...I don't know how it would work for football...

posted by chris2sy at 06:57 PM on April 14, 2005

Lots of jobs test for pot smoking. Whatever your opinion of the reasonability of that practice, what's the difference here?

posted by LionIndex at 07:51 PM on April 14, 2005

Lots of jobs test for pot smoking. Whatever your opinion of the reasonability of that practice, what's the difference here? My point exactly.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:12 PM on April 14, 2005

Heck if nobody really cares. Lets make all illegal drugs legal. Who needs a structured society.. Laws are meant to be broken!

posted by daddisamm at 11:59 PM on April 14, 2005

So are they just going to make these NFL guys watch Refer Madness a few times to straighten them out? I don't think that works...

posted by chris2sy at 12:06 AM on April 15, 2005

Heck if nobody really cares. Lets make all illegal drugs legal. You make it sound like it's a terrible idea. As someone who doesn't drink, has never smoked and never even contemplated the idea of using illegal drugs, I don't have any problem with people using whatever drug they want in the privacy of their own home. Since I'm more likely to be harmed by someone abusing alcohol (a legal drug) than all illegal drugs combined, I think it's a bit stupid to say one type of drug is acceptable while another isn't... Who needs a structured society.. Laws are meant to be broken! Prohibition laws were meant to be broken. Segregation laws were meant to be broken. Sexual discrimination laws (voting) were meant to be broken. Sometimes "structured society" isn't always a good thing...

posted by grum@work at 01:07 AM on April 15, 2005

I don't think the effect of the drug on performance has anything to do with it - by the same logic of "It dehances (I made that word up) their performance, therefore it's OK" they could all be free basing every night and no one could say anything against it. I suppose the point is that if you want to represent the NHL then you have to take the responsibilities that come with it - one of which is not to set the example to young fans that the best way to play is off your tits. I think the final word (as always) should go to Eddie Izzard: ... in Europe we have 200 languages. 200 languages! Just count them, I know you won’t! And future generations of Europeans – I’m sorry, Europeans, but we’re gonna have to be bilingual; we’re gonna have to be, and English speakers hate this! “Two languages in one head? No one can live at that speed! Good Lord, man! You’re asking the impossible!” “But the Dutch speak four languages and smoke marijuana…” “Yes, but they’re cheating! Everyone knows marijuana is a drug enhancement that can help you on track and field to come last in a team of 8 million other runners… who are all dead.”

posted by JJ at 04:34 AM on April 15, 2005

"Performance-enhancing drugs are banned at the Olympics. Okay we can swing with that. But performance-debilitating drugs should not be banned. Smoke a joint and THEN win the 100 metres, fair play to you. That's pretty damned good. Unless someone's dangling a Mars bar in the distance."

posted by JJ at 04:54 AM on April 15, 2005

Degrades, people, that's the word you're looking for, sheesh. You could look it up easily enough in any online thesaurus...but then you'd have to know what an antonym is. O tempora, o vocabulary.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:46 AM on April 15, 2005

Y'know, simply saying "'Degrades' is the word you're looking for" would have covered it, even though it ends in a nasty preposition. Why you insist on adding an extra 50% to comments just to indicate your superiority is beyond me. Everyone has a right to a voice, regardless of their education level. Or intoxication level. O Seasons, O Castles

posted by yerfatma at 06:57 AM on April 15, 2005

Blah. Drug hysteria. Take it from someone who knows - there is absolutely nothing detrimental about smoking copious amounts of as$%kjhsiojhia sda%#@@kdjhkdnna a- Whoa. Spasm.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:41 AM on April 15, 2005

Why do I feel like I can trust you?

posted by yerfatma at 08:49 AM on April 15, 2005

Prohibition laws were meant to be broken. Segregation laws were meant to be broken. Sexual discrimination laws (voting) were meant to be broken Give me a break. You know what I mean. Yes sometimes bad laws need to be change. Change or ignore too many and you have the mess we have today....personal freedoms can be taken too far. I say this from experience. Getting "loose" is fun for the moment, but in the grand scheme of things, its nothing.. Thats why I am in favor of testing for Everything illegal in sports. Pro sports have truely become a reflection of our society. Its time to clean it up a bit.

posted by daddisamm at 09:01 AM on April 15, 2005

ah, dementia once again about the wonderful herb. I'm 50, been smoking almost continuously since age 17. I'm also been a Respiratory Therapist for 11 years (FYI if I EVER came to work high I would deserve to be fired). Never yet seen a patient in ICU from smoking marijuana. Alcohol? Let's see.......how 'bout multiple system organ failure, cirrhosis, respiratory failure, kidney failure with dialysis, and yes, quite often, early death, and I'm talking 40's and 50's. Anyone old enough to have read Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's autobiography? (Came out probably early 80's). He admitted to smoking a ton of weed throughout his NBA career........he is only the leading scorer of all-time. Let's get real, folks: pot helps one relax, and pot smokers often take a few days off to let their lungs clean out, unlike cigarette smokers. For legalization efforts, see www.mpp.com.

posted by robslob at 09:13 AM on April 15, 2005

grum, your rationality precedes you.

posted by garfield at 09:13 AM on April 15, 2005

sorry folks, that's www.mpp.org

posted by robslob at 09:16 AM on April 15, 2005

I'm 50, been smoking almost continuously since age 17. I'm also been a Respiratory Therapist for 11 years Do you treat your patients using bong inhalation techniques?

posted by dzot at 09:24 AM on April 15, 2005

I knew I'd get a few laughs over that one.......hahaha....no, no bongs in use, but there ARE some deep breathing exercises

posted by robslob at 09:38 AM on April 15, 2005

Thats why I am in favor of testing for Everything illegal in sports. Pro sports have truely become a reflection of our society. And that's why I'm in favor of a injecting a little rationality and a healthy dose of 'mind-yer-own-buiness' into society. Honestly - if pro-sports is that important (and it so is not), then it's not sport's problem - it's societies misguided obsession for fun, but ultimately unimportant entertainment.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:49 AM on April 15, 2005

Copious amounts of tree. I heard Jim Rome use that one yesterday talking about Ricky Williams. Listen..Mary Jane is nothing compared to other drugs out there right now ruining lives. LIKE METH!! The midwest is under an epidemic right now. Please check this out: http://www.methabuse.net/meth_addiction.html It is silly to discuss something like pot when drugs that can really do harm are out there. This drug is not mind expanding..it is mind damaging!! thanks and hopefully the NFL will learn weed isn't the problem and as long as they don't disclose info it wouldn't matter anyway.

posted by watseka burnout at 10:12 AM on April 15, 2005

personal freedoms can be taken too far Not really, people just need to keep in mind the responsibility that comes with freedom. Freedom aint pretty, and it aint free...its costs a buck-oh-five. L.T. smoked rocks, is that performance enhancing?

posted by chris2sy at 11:46 AM on April 15, 2005

I think the marijuana laws are stupid too. But back to the issue at hand. These guys had to stop smoking pot for all of about 2 months and then they would have been able to enjoy a lifetime of evening joints and Monday morning recovery hits. The NFL puts pot into the category of a street drug. They test all rookies for such drugs as they enter the league. If they are caught, they are then subject to at least two years of frequent, random tests. However, if they do not test positive, they are not re-tested for the street drugs over the course of their career, only the performance enhancing ones. So, if these guys could have stopped smoking the dope for two months leading up to the combine, they would have been free and clear to enjoy themselves how they saw fit (assuming they stayed out of the way of the law man). Now, they are going to be tested quite often and if caught again they face the choice of suspension or hiding out in the Australian Outback. Whether the drug laws are right or not, these guys are idiots.

posted by 86 at 11:48 AM on April 15, 2005

You are right Meth is a really big problem. Our country side is dotted with Meth Labs. I know that I am not going to change people's minds about weed. I do know its not for me. However, Being a cancer patient, if it ever came down to using weed for pain--It may think about it To me, recreational use of any drug, is not only wrong; its a road leading to nowhere...

posted by daddisamm at 12:00 PM on April 15, 2005

Was anyone high during this thread or does it just seem that way?

posted by smithers at 12:43 PM on April 15, 2005

lol smithers as long they dont have steriods in there system i dont give a fuck ya wanna get high

posted by dhdefrag3x at 01:07 PM on April 15, 2005

LIKE METH!! As someone who lives in Oklahoma, aka, meth capital of the world, it is a performance enhancing drug, let me explain, i saw these two lesbians one time in a strip club lick each other raw, i mean they had to be pried apart by bouncers, and these fucking wheaties (what semi-normal people call the wheat harversters from out of town) were throwing all the money and meth they fucking had at this two whores, quiet funny, so anyways, me and my friends who were high as hell on the only drug from God----WEED---, just laughed, so these strippers performance were enhanced making them earn more money!

posted by mattonimus at 07:04 PM on April 15, 2005

Se, uh, nothing to worry about.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:48 PM on April 15, 2005

I see no prob w/athletes' using weed. Pro athletes' take a physical pounding. Alonzo Morning used to take over the counter(legal)drugs for the aches & pains of the grueling 82 game(not including playoffs) season. Look where that got him, kidney disease. Ricky Williams took a great pounding in his 2 seasons with The Dolphins, caring the ball more than another other running back during that time. I know it's still considered illegal, but the Iraq War was considered illegal by the rest of the world, that didn't stop Idiot Bush. Are we still free ? Don't we have bigger problems to worry about than, "those smokin' weed". Please, give me a freakin' break already. If everyone who gets drunk every week switched to weed, this country would be a much more pleasant and safer place. Try banning booze, cigs.or caffine in this country and see what happens. Anarchy, that's what would happen. Nobody has a problem with drug enforcement until they ban their drug of choice. Some of the same people that are so "anti-drug" are drunks and beat their wives. That's okay to them. Hypocrites. Mind your own damn business and worry about your own self improvement.

posted by JDUB at 09:02 AM on April 16, 2005

ok then-that sounds like the last word to me...

posted by daddisamm at 01:06 AM on April 17, 2005

yup......really can't say it any better than JDUB did!!

posted by robslob at 08:44 AM on April 17, 2005

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