There are four NFL teams playing in the AFC and NFC Championship games today. All are from legal recreational marijuana states.
Although 20 of the National Football League’s 32 teams (62%) are from states that have legalized recreational marijuana, 100% of the teams that made it to the championship matches are from one of those states.
The Kansas City Chiefs are from Missouri, and the Baltimore Ravens are from Maryland; both legalized recreational marijuana via the initiative process in 2022.
The San Francisco 49ers home state of California legalized in 2016, while the Detroit Lion’s home state of Michigan legalized two years later in 2018.
It’s worth noting that at the start of the 2012 season, the number of NFL teams located in legal marijuana states was 0.
Travis Kelce, starting tight end for Kansas City Chiefs, said in June that he believes a majority of NFL players use marijuana on a regular basis, with the number as high as 80%.
Earlier this month the NFL announced it was partnering with researchers in order to conduct clinical trials on the safety and efficiency of the marijuana compound cannabidiol (CBD) for treating pain and providing protection against concussions.
“The goal of this open-label, placebo-controlled, dosage escalation study is to learn about the safety of a Cannabis/Hemp Isolate Extract in normal healthy adults engaged in elite contact sport competition”, states a notice announcing the study.
The main question it aims to answer is “Are cannabis/hemp-based products with high CBD safe, well-tolerated and without adverse physiological and psychological dysfunction, when administered on a daily basis?”
