The idiocy of our country’s approach to medical marijuana was on full display for all to see at the Minnesota Vikings training camp yesterday.
Since the age of 10, Percy Harvin, a Vikings wide receiver, has suffered from chronic, debilitating migraines. Luckily, later in life, Harvin found a therapeutic substance that not only relieved his migraines effectively, but also allowed him to play football. It was marijuana.
But during last year’s NFL combine, Harvin, a promising prospect, tested positive for marijuana, and was subsequently drafted much lower than expected. The Vikings finally picked him 22nd overall, reportedly after a long talk about his marijuana use, and specifically, how it needed to stop if he wanted to keep playing.
Harvin complied, and the migraines didn’t seem to be a problem for much of his breakout rookie season. “Questions about his ability as a receiver seem silly now,” Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated wrote at the time. “The only thing that has slowed him is migraines.” Toward the end of last season, the migraines got worse, and Harvin was sidelined. Except now he wasn’t able to use marijuana to treat them, and nothing else seemed to work.
On Monday, after another stint in the hospital, Harvin was finally back in uniform at Vikings training camp. Cindy Boren of the Washington Post describes what happened next:
Harvin, who has battled migraines since he was 10 and sought treatment last year at the Mayo Clinic, had not practiced for two weeks because of migraines, returning to the field only Monday. Suffering another attack Thursday, he managed to return to the field and looked up to the sky to field a punt. He doubled over, vomited and seemed momentarily unresponsive and was taken to the hospital. The scene was so disturbing for players that the rest of practice was called off.
If medical marijuana were legal in the United States, and treated like any other legitimate medicine by the NFL, then Harvin could consult with a doctor about the best way to use marijuana to help relieve these awful migraines. (And anyone who is a migraine sufferer knows just how awful they can be.) More importantly, the Vikings could have a productive wide receiver. Instead, they’re forced to stand by idly as their $1.04 million investment is carted off the field in an ambulance, overcome by pain that could easily be relieved by a safe, non-toxic medicine.
How’s that for sensible marijuana policies?
This was the first thing I thought of when I heard this story. It’s shameful that this man is forced to pick between his health and his career.
Speaking of shameful, ESPN doesn’t even go near this issue. Not one single mention of medical cannabis as it related to Harvin’s issues, in all their coverage. My guess is that ESPN — owned by ABC/Disney — has a vested interest in playing down this angle.
There might be greater tragedies in the war on drugs than Harvin’s difficulties playing in the NFL and the harm this causes his team’s investment portfolio, but you’ve done a good job of showing that it would be hard to get more idiotic about refusing to see cannabis as medicine.
And how many alcoholics in the NFL? Talented athletes using marijuana and being better more physically fit than 99% of the entire population… sounds like good propaganda to end prohibition. Lets see how many alcoholics and cigarette smokers could perform well day to day in a professional sport as grueling as football.
MARIJUANA IS NOT BAD!
It was put here as a medicine. The easiest medicine on the planet to harvest and use. I am sure its ease of use was designed due to the fact that primitive people had to figure it out. How primitive are our politicians that they can’t even figure out that prohibition is a law against nature.
Talk to the pussy of a governor in Mn about it.
Mark. Obama wants all of us silenced. Rob Van Dam was fired from W.W.E. for cannabis use. Every year athletes have to choose between cannabis and work. Why should any one have to choose? LEGALIZE!!!
When we feel like posting violence, profanity, etc., let’s remember:
There’s a ballot this November in California, South Dakota, Arizona…Others?
Our opponents will latch onto anything they can to make us look like “bad” people. Let’s not give them any violent, profane, or otherwise unsavory quotes
Clarence,
Are you suggesting that MPP is governed by Obama, and thus this is the reason my posts are censored?
Football players suffer from severe brain damage. Has there been any research suggesting the neuroprotective abilities of cannabis may help this. Should all NFL players use???
Mark. I hope not. I do know that Obama wants to shut us all up. This was obvious when Obama got his own white house press. His agenda does not include cannabis reformers, tea partyers, repubs, or anyone who is against him and Palosi. I do not know how long untill we are silenced from posting our ideas and thoughts but it is comming. Now Obama is working on shutting down the internet for everyone except himself. Where is free speech now? I will read and post as long as I have two fingers to type with and one eye to read with.
What activity is safer, playing NFL or using cannabis?
This is stupid so they won’t give to him because of medicinal purposes and because it’s the only thing that helps buy they’ll give it to him of it’s legalized? WTF!!!!!!!! Fuck the NFL! Don’t legalize it to all u true ganja smokers! Plz don’t!
If you submit to a law, knowing it is wrong, knowing that obeying it will cause you harm, all harm coming from obeying it is your fault.
directed towards One Love:
Why not legalize it for everyone else? Its a fucking plant for christ’s sake! Its not like its engineered in a fucking lab somewhere…if youre gonna sit at you’re goddamn computer and troll on a website that is against the prohibition of marijuana, then fuck off. There is no use for you here.
If the government is this out of touch with all of the research studies about the legitimacy of medical marijuana, then they really are not mentally capable of running a government. Maybe, Jebus is really running the show down there in Warshington.
It’s really simple, the damned government (isn’t that supposed to be our own voices?????) is going to do all it can to maintain the drug policy as it is. Do you realize how many tens of thousands of government employees depend on marijuana remaining illegal to keep their jobs? They have created their own union and the union doesn’t want to be put out on the street. The only way to make it happen is for every citizen to grow the stuff, whether you want to smoke it or use its’ fibers to make great fabric. It won’t take long to realize they must end the prohibition then.
How about next April 20th at 4:20pm anyone with a bag goes to the nearest police pricinct, turns themselves in, and see how the system works with 200 million people on it at once.
percy is an amazing athlete and I wish that he would just talk to the commisioner about cannabis and how it can truely help. I beleieve that Harvin has the opportunity to show people all over the country that cannabis can truely help, since it would be pretty easy to see a difference if he just sparked up the next time he got a migrane and avoids a hospital visit. it would have results no one could ignore. plus everyone on this boar needs to stop making this about obama, you know if he made cannabis legal, it would be one more weapon for people to attack him. like taking over the Internet??? really? if you elected McCain, we’d all have been drafted to fight in Iran. this isn’t some stupid crazy conspiracy thing, he said that while running, he wanted war with Iran and reopen the draft
After stomach surgery and being run over by a drunk driver.
A long story short a woman who works on my back also works on Viking players.
I became friends with some of them and would get them some cannabis because of the pain they are also in.
To bad for me one of them got caught with some and told on me.
I was them raided and my life became a mess.
Almost all of them smoke and it was just a big waste of time and money to raid me.
The system is such a mess things just need to change. I do not think I’m a criminal even though I’ve got three felonies hanging over my head over 100$ worth of weed.
Not the first time a player has had to chose between the drug the love yeah the good green stuff and the sport they love its so sad really. Ricky Williams went thru the same issues but he made his mind up and left for a year to smoke the yummy green stuff he loved so much before he returned to the sport he also loved so much and i bleive when he retires that he will be back to the good old glory of smoking the yummy smoke back into his lungs! The system needs to be changed so ppl like harvin and williams can par take in both of the things that relieve them and that they love so much!