New op-ed on marijuana and the NFL cites Friday’s vote to defund medical marijuana raids

One of my favorite sports journalists Jason La Canfora has this editorial out today calling for the NFL to reconsider its stance on medical marijuana.  Of particularly interest to me, La Canfora cites Friday’s vote in the House as a sign that the NFL is behind the times on this issue.  

The times, they are a changin’– no matter which side of this issue you are on, and on Friday alone the House passed an amendment restricting the DEA from targeting medical marijuana operations in states where it is legal; a bill that was backed by bipartisan support.

La Canfora highlights one of the reasons why the House vote is such an important political development.  Medical marijuana reform is now–in a very real and concrete way–an issue with bipartisan support in Congress.  And I think this changes perceptions when it comes to the prospect of changing federal law and the status quo on enforcement practices.  It begins to turn the tables politically as far as which side of the issue is perceived as the mainstream and which side is perceived as out-of-touch.  

Despite all of the polling and state-level reforms, support for medical marijuana has been seen as out-of-the-mainstream in DC.  It was an issue that might get a coalition of very progressive Democrats and very-libertarian-leaning Republicans to muster 160 votes in the House.  But that was about it.  And, as a result, there was a sense that a politician who supported medical marijuana was taking a “far-left” (e.g., Barney Frank) or “far-right” (e.g., Ron Paul) position.  But now, supporting reform means you’re siding with the majority of a bipartisan group in a Republican-controlled Congress. 

I think Friday’s vote also has real implications for how this issue will be perceived in the 2016 presidential race.  In the past, candidates who opposed federal interference with state medical marijuana laws did so tepidly and the position was seen as a bit risky–something you didn’t want to talk about if you could avoid it (see, e.g., President Obama.)  This vote makes me think it is even more likely that, in 2016, candidates who don’t support marijuana law reform (at least to some degree) will be the ones on the defensive.  To be sure, this shift did not start with Friday’s vote, but I think it will be seen as one of the most significant milestones in the journey.  

And, returning to La Canfora’s article, the changing politics of marijuana may have implications for the NFL as well.  Here’s the start of his excellent piece:

Enough with the NFL’s Reefer Madness already. It needs to stop.

 

I fully realize that nothing of significance changes in this league without a fight between the league and its union, but the fact that lighting up a joint is dealt with in a draconian fashion, while domestic abuse punishment is often meted out in a far-less severe manner, is just one of many incongruous corollaries to the NFL’s weed policy.

 

At a time when the government’s approach to pot is taking a dramatic turn, and the drug is being increasingly legalized to some degree or another in state after state, for young stars in their prime like the Browns’ Josh Gordon and the Cardinals’ Daryl Washington to both be potentially missing all of next season, if not longer, for using marijuana, is ludicrous (now, if you want to kick Washington out of the league for 2014 for other transgressions, you won’t get an argument out of me).

 

This is getting ridiculous.