Shout out to Nate Jackson, a great NFL tight end and one of Jake's former teammates on the Denver Broncos. His story that was published yesterday in The Defector is insightful and all-around excellent.
I liked it better when cannabis was just weed.
—Nate Jackson
A gradual acceptance of cannabis in NFL football culture
In his article, Nate reflects on his accidental fame as the "NFL Weed Guy," expressing regret over how his minor mentions of cannabis in his 2014 book, Slow Getting Up, overshadowed other substantial topics. He recounts his football career and the gradual acceptance of cannabis for managing the physical pain and trauma associated with sports injuries, while contrasting this with his personal struggles with cannabis use post-retirement. Jackson's narrative explores the broader implications of marijuana in sports and the shifting cultural attitudes towards its legalization and medical use.
Functional mushrooms are on the same path to acceptance among athletes as cannabis was
The thing that strikes us most about this piece is how functional mushrooms are tracing a similar trajectory to the one that cannabis and CBD took, all those years ago. Mushrooms are moving towards broader acceptance, marked by increasing interest in their health and wellness benefits. The functional mushroom community will clearly benefit from the paths forged and lessons learned by Nate Jackson and the whole of the cannabis industry, especially in terms of navigating regulatory landscapes, educating the public, and establishing credible research to support health claims. This could smooth their path towards mainstream recognition and use, much like what has been observed with cannabis and CBD.
Here are some quotes from the article:
Staying in touch with Jake Plummer
"The only one I’ve kept in contact with has been Jake Plummer. He was my football teammate before he was my cannabis teammate, and one bond was clearly stronger than the other. He has since started his own mushroom company called Umbo, and has stayed in touch with a lot of the cannabis folks. The game goes on."
So many ex-athletes have started cannabis brands
"People still smoke weed. Athletes start cannabis brands. A few are profitable; most go belly-up. Ricky Williams started Highsman. Kyle Turley and Jim McMahon started Revenant. Tyson Ranch is still the gold standard."
A changing NFL
"A few years ago, the NFL changed its cannabis policy. They now have a much higher threshold for cannabis in the bloodstream, they’ve shrunk the testing window to two weeks, and they no longer punish guys who test positive; they offer them treatment instead. It’s almost exactly what I suggested 10 years ago in my book."
Natural substances should not be criminalized
"Did it make me feel good to see it finally happen? Yes and no. Yes, because it was the right thing to do. Players who make it to the NFL should not have their dream derailed because they chose to smoke weed, a substance that most of America now sees as harmless and for which most police officers won’t waste their time writing tickets. Like I said, the demands of the job are the deterrent to becoming a loser stoner. If you smoke too much weed, then it will affect your performance and that’ll be why you get cut."
You can read the full article here.
