Super Bowl Champ's Fight for Cannabis: 'Opioids Are Killing Athletes'

"Cannabis is medicine and a viable, safe alternative to opioids."

Marvin Washington knows pain.

Not the kind that comes and goes. The kind that lingers. The kind that burrows deep into your body and settles in for the long haul. The kind that every former NFL player knows far too well.

For 11 seasons, Washington lined up against the best—a relentless defensive end for the New York Jets, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers. A force on the field, smashing through offensive lines, chasing down quarterbacks, absorbing hit after hit after hit. And he played through it all.

Because that's what you do in the NFL.

You get hurt. You take something for the pain. You get back out there.

And for decades, that "something" was opioids.

It was pills in the trainer's room, pills in your locker, pills before practice, before games, before bed. It was normal. Until it wasn't. Until guys started needing them just to function. Until guys started losing everything to addiction. Until some of them didn't make it out at all.

Washington saw it happening in real-time. And he knew there had to be a better way.

The NFL's Unspoken Epidemic

"The short answer is yes," Washington says when asked if sports are finally shifting away from opioids. "Between all of the expos, conventions and panels that are happening, former athletes, mostly led by cannabis athletes, have brought this issue to the mainstream. It's been covered by mainstream media publications, and it has made all leagues at all levels aware of the opioid issue with athletes and society in general."

But awareness doesn't always mean action.

Even today, painkillers remain the default prescription for pro athletes, even as the consequences become impossible to ignore. The body count is real. So is the devastation.

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Washington has spent years pushing for a different path. And in his mind, cannabis is part of the answer. Not just because it works, but because it doesn't destroy lives in the process.

"We're seeing firsthand the evolution of cannabis," he says. "Leafwell is fulfilling the vision that so many sports cannabis pioneers, such as Ricky Williams, Kyle Turley Riley Cote, etc., have been fighting for over a decade. It's no longer when and if, but when—and that's now."

Now is the moment to change the game. And Washington is making sure athletes—past, present and future—have the tools to do it.

The Game After The Game

Here's the thing: the hits don't stop when the paychecks do. Retirement doesn't mean relief. It means reckoning.

"There are 3,200 active NFL players but 20,000 former players," Washington says. "You cannot forget about the health and welfare of that many guys who helped build the game."

The NFL is trying. In recent years, it's expanded healthcare for retired players. The NBA and MLB have done the same. The NHL is catching up. But Washington believes one piece is still missing: Cannabis.

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Guys are already using it—for pain, for recovery, for mental health, for CTE, for sleep. They just can't talk about it freely. They still risk judgment, stigma and roadblocks when it comes to access.

Washington wants to change that.

The Business Of Change

Of course, sports leagues don't move fast—unless there's money involved.

"The biggest roadblock is the prohibition at the federal level," Washington says. "However, leagues have been starting to see, just like with the other ‘vice' industries—such as alcohol and gambling—the benefits of partnerships with the cannabis industry are the financial benefits. MLB allows cannabis advertising, and USC (University of Southern California) partnered with the cannabis company Cookies on a sponsorship deal with their athletic department. The economic impact is powerful, and the Trojan horse—the medicinal benefits—are in the belly that will be let out to show them that cannabis is medicine."

Translation? Money talks.

Once the financial upside becomes too big to ignore, leagues will follow. But Washington isn't waiting around for them to figure it out.

That's where Leafwell comes in.

A company focused on medical cannabis research and patient consultations, Leafwell is bringing hard data to the conversation—the kind of evidence that gets leagues, doctors and decision-makers to take notice. And Washington is right in the middle of it, working directly with players’ unions to get cannabis integrated into collective bargaining agreements.

See also: Cannabis Could Save $29 Billion Per Year In U.S. Healthcare Costs, Says CEO

Step by step, he's moving the needle.

A Playbook For The Future

Washington isn't the only one leading the charge. Athletes like Ricky Williams, Al Harrington and Matt Barnes have built their own cannabis brands, showing that there's a place for athletes in this industry, not just as consumers, but as business leaders.

If a player came to Washington today and said, “I want to start a cannabis business,” he'd tell them the same thing he'd tell any entrepreneur.

"Like any other business, you must educate yourself, know your target market, surround yourself with good, sound business people and have solid business principles."

It's not just about building a business. It's about changing an industry. And that takes time, strategy and persistence.

Because even with legalization expanding, social equity is still an uphill battle.

"The thing that is making progress is the legalization of cannabis in the Atlantic states," Washington explains. "Very respectful of the early legal states west of the Mississippi, but the population centers are on the Eastern seaboard, with the people who need social equity. It's moving—maybe not as fast as some would like, but it's moving."

Slowly. But it's moving.

The Message To The Leagues

If he could sit across from Roger Goodell or any other league commissioner, Washington knows exactly what he'd say.

"Cannabis is medicine and a viable, safe alternative to opioids."

It's not just an opinion. It's science. It's real. It's the truth.

And Washington isn't just talking about it. He's making sure it happens.

Because for too long, cannabis in sports has been about punishment.

Now, he's making sure the next phase is about healing.

Photo courtesy of Leafwell