(Newswire.net — February 11, 2014) Denver, CO — When the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII a picture instantly went viral depicting a fog-cloaked Space Needle with the tagline “Seahawks Win, Seattle Celebrates.” The joke wasn’t about Seattle’s famously dreary weather, but rather inferring that the fog was actually smoke. A foggy pic of Denver would have worked just as well for the joke. Both of the teams that represented their conference in this year’s Super Bowl came from the only two states that have legalized marijuana use by adults for recreational purposes.
Both the Seahawks and the Broncos were undoubtedly the best in their conference this year, and both teams benefited from a bumper crop of the top free agents in the last two years. A large part of what attracts free agents to a city is the culture of the local area the franchise calls home. Conservative areas such as Cleveland and Cincinnati often have trouble signing or re-signing their free agents, and players often cite the cities themselves as the reason to stay away.
Denver and Seattle both passed their laws last year, at about the point that their individual resurgences began. As the laws came into effect on the first of the year in 2014 both teams were roaring into the playoffs. Jake Salazar, owner of MMJ America in Denver, Colorado does not believe that this is a coincidence. “Marijuana is a popular product, and not just with athletes,” Salazar says “Professional football players may consider the Seattle and Denver areas much cooler destinations knowing that their friends and family will not be jailed for enjoying that product responsibly.”
The new laws put the NFL in an awkward position this year when they suspended Seattle Cornerback Brandon Browner for testing positive for marijuana use. This has received national attention because of the severity of the punishment for using a substance that is legal in his state. Moreover, the punishment was increased in severity by his non-participation in the substance abuse program when he was out of the NFL and playing in the Canadian Football League. Despite the loss of one of their top corners for the year, Seattle’s depth was such that they were still able to go on to win the Super Bowl.
This situation has also caused the NFL to admit that they are going to re-examine the use of medical marijuana in the wake of 20 states legalizing its use. On Jan 16th, 2014 the commissioner said: “I don’t know what’s going to develop as far as the next opportunity for medicine to evolve and to help either deal with pain or help deal with injuries,” Goodell said “But we will continue to support the evolution of medicine.” The NFL has come under fire in recent years for player health issues, and an evolving attitude of marijuana for medical purposes is an encouraging sign.
About
Jake Salazar is the owner of MMJ America based in Denver, Colorado. Their Lodo location is one of Colorado’s first dispensaries licensed to sell recreational marijuana. For more information on MMJ America or Colorado’s marijuana laws please contact them at downtown@mmjamerica.com or visit http://mmjamerica.com/.
Additional Source: http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/01/16/3173221/marijuana-nfls-head-injury-remedy/
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