More on the NFL’s marijuana testing plans

Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk has an interesting take on the news that the NFL is thinking of scaling back the punishment for players who test positive for marijuana.  Florio sees the news as a ploy to try and get the Players Association to strick a deal on HGH testing.  Perhaps most interesting, he argues that the players should use their leverage on HGH testing to demand the elimination of marijuana testing altogether:

Given that Commissioner Roger Goodell made a public push last week to finalize HGH testing, it’s not a stretch to believe that the source who leaked this new information about marijuana testing and discipline to ESPN.com wants the players to know that, if they merely agree to let Commissioner Goodell handle appeals of violations of the performance-enhancing drug policy that arise from something other than a positive test, marijuana will suddenly become less of a problem for players.

 

And if enough players figure this out and begin pushing the NFLPA to take that deal, the impasse regarding HGH testing may finally be broken.

 

It’s the right idea by the NFL, but it doesn’t go far enough.  Why not simply abandon marijuana testing, and punish only those players who are arrested and convicted of a marijuana-related violation?  It’s not a performance-enhancing substance (otherwise, it would fall under the steroids policy).  Why does the NFL continue to feel compelled to regulate what a player does on his own time away from work — and why does the NFLPA continue to let it happen?

 

Maybe the NFL wants HGH testing badly enough to drop the general ban on marijuana.  Because marijuana use does nothing to undermine the integrity of the game but HGH does, it should be a no-brainer.