{"id":2449187,"date":"2019-09-26T10:10:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T16:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=313423"},"modified":"2019-09-26T10:10:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T16:10:00","slug":"high-country-meet-six-former-nfl-players-whove-gotten-into-the-cannabis-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/high-country-meet-six-former-nfl-players-whove-gotten-into-the-cannabis-game\/","title":{"rendered":"High Country: Meet six former NFL players who\u2019ve gotten into the cannabis game"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.699173553719\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-313423-301\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/highcountry-atw-092619-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/highcountry-atw-092619-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy of Real Wellness | Now a trained herbalist and healer, Ricky Williams launched Real Wellness in 2018, personally developing a THC product line on-shelf in California dispensaries with CBD-only products available online.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Now a trained herbalist and healer, Ricky Williams launched Real Wellness in 2018, personally developing a THC product line on-shelf in California dispensaries with CBD-only products available online.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy of Real Wellness<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/highcountry-atw-092619-3.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Now a trained herbalist and healer, Ricky Williams launched Real Wellness in 2018, personally developing a THC product line on-shelf in California dispensaries with CBD-only products available online.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/highcountry-atw-092619-3-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/highcountry-atw-092619-3-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy GTI | Eugene Monroe at the ribbon cutting opening of GTI\u2019s Rise dispensary in Deerfield Beach \u2014 the first of more than 30 dispensaries Green Thumb Industries has slated to open in Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Eugene Monroe at the ribbon cutting opening of GTI\u2019s Rise dispensary in Deerfield Beach \u2014 the first of more than 30 dispensaries Green Thumb Industries has slated to open in Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy GTI<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/highcountry-atw-092619-3-1.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Eugene Monroe at the ribbon cutting opening of GTI\u2019s Rise dispensary in Deerfield Beach \u2014 the first of more than 30 dispensaries Green Thumb Industries has slated to open in Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/highcountry-atw-092619-3-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/highcountry-atw-092619-3-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | FR170444 AP | Calvin Johnson is helping fund a Harvard study for CTE and marijuana research.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Calvin Johnson is helping fund a Harvard study for CTE and marijuana research.<\/strong><br \/>AP | FR170444 AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/highcountry-atw-092619-3-2.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Calvin Johnson is helping fund a Harvard study for CTE and marijuana research.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/marijuana\/forward-progress-dek-meet-six-former-nfl-players-whove-gotten-into-the-cannabis-game\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/marijuana\/forward-progress-dek-meet-six-former-nfl-players-whove-gotten-into-the-cannabis-game\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">With the 2019 regular season underway \u2014 the sixth since the onslaught of adult-use marijuana legalization \u2014 the National Football League is finally considering a shift on its substance policy stance. In May, the NFL and NFL Players Association formed joint medical committees to look into alternative therapies for pain and mental health management as well as promote wellness through researching the effects of both cannabis and CBD.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Under the new task force, NFL clubs are required to employ a Behavioral Health Team Clinician, ordered to be available to players at training facilities between 8 and 12 hours per week, conduct mandatory educational sessions for coaches and players and compose a Mental Health Emergency Action Plan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">In a 2016 survey of 226 of the NFL\u2019s nearly 3,000 players on active rosters or practice squads, ESPN found that 61% believed that players would take fewer injections of strong anti-inflammatory drugs such as Toradol if they could treat pain legally with marijuana. In another study, ESPN reported that 71% of 644 NFL players surveyed misused opioids and that retired players are at risk for addiction at a rate more than four times that of the general population.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">While marijuana remains on the NFL\u2019s banned substance list (players are still suspended if they test positive for THC), a growing roster continues to come out of the cannabis closet, advocating for accepted use among athletes. Many retired players are even entering the space as investors or launching brands of their own.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Meet six former NFL stars who are leading the charge for forward progress:<\/p>\n<h4>Calvin Johnson, Co-founder, Primitive<\/h4>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">After retiring from the Detroit Lions in 2016, Calvin Johnson has found a new career in cannabis, co-founding a chain of medical dispensaries slated to open across Michigan with ex-NFL lineman and teammate Rob Sims. In a just-published interview with Sports Illustrated, Johnson says, \u201cWhen I got to the league, (there) was opioid abuse. You really could go in the training room and get what you wanted. I can get Vicodin, I can get Oxy(contin).\u2008It was too available. I used Percocet and stuff like that. And I did not like the way that made me feel. I had my preferred choice of medicine. Cannabis.\u201d He\u2019s also taking his industry involvement higher, donating his own dollars to help Harvard University fund a study on treating CTE with cannabis; which stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy \u2014 a degenerative brain disease commonly diagnosed in NFL players.<\/p>\n<h4>Tiki Barber, Co-founder, Grove Group Management<\/h4>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">After spending 10 years as a running back with the New York Giants, Barber retired in 2007, soon landing as a news anchor on NBC\u2019s \u201cToday\u201d and launched a sports marketing firm. In 2018, he co-founded Vancouver-based investment firm Grove Group Management, focused on North American cannabis start-ups. As for his impetus for getting into the cannabis game? Helping the many athletes suffering from traumatic head injuries. Barber told CNN Business in an interview, \u201cThe more quickly we can get cannabis legalized federally, the better off athletes will be. (It\u2019s a) matter of inevitability.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Eugene Monroe, Diversity consultant, Green Thumb Industries<\/h4>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">As the first-ever active NFL player to publicly share he consumes marijuana in 2016 \u2014 an act that caused the Baltimore Ravens to terminate his contract \u2014 Monroe\u2019s voice has only gotten louder. He penned a trio of columns for The Cannabist about his mission to \u201cget the NFL to accept cannabinoids as a viable option for pain management\u201d and serves on the Board of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation and HealthyUNow and is a supporter of the Drug Policy Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Athletes for Care. Monroe cites overly present and overly prescribed opioids as the main factor in speaking out and in a Newsweek interview said, \u201cThose are powerful drugs. Many people who take them get addicted. There\u2019s no secret: It\u2019s one of the deepest issues in our country right now.\u201d Monroe joined Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries (GTI) in 2016, where he consults on engaging diverse communities and research initiatives for the medical marijuana cultivation and dispensary company.<\/p>\n<h4>Joe Montana, Investor, Caliva<\/h4>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">The legendary quarterback, who had a 15-year Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, first entered the industry in 2017 with a $4.1 million investment in Herb, a marijuana-focused news and entertainment media outlet. His venture capital firm\u2019s latest move is a $75 million investment in the vertically integrated cannabis company Caliva. Based in San Jose, California, Caliva produces top-shelf cannabis flower and oil, manufactures ancillary products, operates a flagship dispensary and sells on-shelf at dispensaries throughout the state. \u201cAs an investor and supporter, it is my opinion that Caliva\u2019s strong management team will successfully develop and bring to market-quality health and wellness products that can provide relief to many people and can make a serious impact on opioid use or addiction,\u201d Montana said in a statement earlier this year.<\/p>\n<h4>Marvin Washington, VP of business development, Isodiol International Inc.<\/h4>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">A longtime advocate for the medical use of marijuana, Marvin Washington, whose career spanned 11 years with the New York Jets, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers, is the vice president of business development for global CBD leader Isodiol International, Inc. and brand ambassador for ISO-Sport. He was most recently appointed to the company\u2019s board of directors and also serves on the board of Athletes for Care, a nonprofit organization dedicated to health and safety for athletes, which encourages the use of cannabis as medicine. Washington has been instrumental in sparking early discussions with the NFL Players Association for changes in the sport\u2019s drug policies and also participated in a 2017 lawsuit filing against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, which sought to overturn the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I drug.<\/p>\n<h4>Ricky Williams, Founder, Real Wellness<\/h4>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Forced to retire in 2004 after testing positive for marijuana, only to return and fail yet another drug test in 2005, Ricky Williams said goodbye to the game for good in 2011. Now a trained herbalist and healer, Williams launched Real Wellness in 2018, personally developing products in four formulas: Serenity, Optimize, Maintenance &amp; Repair and Ricky\u2019s Choice. The line can be found in Southern California dispensaries and includes RW smokes, vape cartridges, salves and tonics with its CBD-only products also available online. A dedicated student of ancient Indian medicine, yoga, massage, pranic healing, craniosacral therapy, Chinese medicine and astrology, Williams shared with Bloomberg, \u201cThe whole purpose of this for me is to help facilitate my public persona transitioning from being a former football player to being a healer. It\u2019s been difficult for people to appreciate who I am as a healer because of the success I had as a football player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Shirttail\">Katie Shapiro can be reached at <a href=\"mailto:katie@katieshapiromedia.com\">katie@katieshapiromedia.com<\/a> and followed on Twitter @bykatieshapiro.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/marijuana\/forward-progress-dek-meet-six-former-nfl-players-whove-gotten-into-the-cannabis-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now a trained herbalist and healer, Ricky Williams launched Real Wellness in 2018, personally developing a THC product line on-shelf in California dispensaries with CBD-only products available online.Courtesy of Real Wellness Eugene Monroe at the ribbon cutting opening of GTI\u2019s Rise dispensary in Deerfield Beach \u2014 the first of more than 30 dispensaries Green Thumb [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2449187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 09:34:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}