More states, cities and municipalities have begun relaxing marijuana laws and enforcement in recent years, and now the National Football League could follow suit. In a recent NFL owners meeting, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reportedly raised the subject of the league ending its prohibition on players using marijuana. Jones' team has lost multiple players to drug suspensions in recent years, but on a larger scale league officials have said they could be open to considering changes to the pot policy.
Former NFL player and Sportstalk 790 host Greg Koch believes Jones has a point. "I don't think the NFL is made better by pushing some of its best players out because some players smoke marijuana," he says. Koch points out that Houston has recently changed its enforcement of marijuana laws, so there is a definitely a trend the league should take note of. "When the majority of states right now are legalizing marijuana, and even Houston is saying you can possess it and you're going to go to drug awareness programs...I think the ball is starting to roll that way," he says.
Nevertheless, the league and owners agree that any change to the marijuana policy would have to come through collective bargaining with the players' union on the next labor contract. "Is this going to get any traction? I don't think so, but it is going to start the conversation," says Koch. "The players can't complain because they bargained in the collective bargaining agreement for this, so until then it's still a federal crime, and if you get caught you will be suspended."