WeedLife News Network

BEFORE he suited up to play against the New York Giants in 2012, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Eben Britton took an ice bath followed by a hot shower. He did his routine stretches. Then he smoked a joint.

Meet Wanda James and Scott Durrah, the Colorado cannabis power couple who predict it won’t be long before the NFL embraces marijuana as a brain medicine and as an alternative to dangerous and addictive painkillers.

Former NFL star Ricky Williams is featured in an upcoming SI Films production in which he discusses his experience with marijuana use and his support for legalization.

When NFL lineman Eugene Monroe spoke out publicly against the NFL’s ban on marijuana, it sparked a national conversation about the merits of cannabis as an alternative method of pain management for players.

Few industries have been able to change their narratives as drastically as legal marijuana, and it has done so with the help of two sympathetic groups: Football players with a traumatic brain disease and sick children.

DENVER - Hemp is helping. Former Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer says he is taking CBD, also known as cannabidoil, and it is easing the daily pain he suffered from a decade playing in the NFL.

Today, O.penVAPE, a Colorado-based manufacturer of vaporizer devices, cartridges and other marijuana-related products, is announcing that it has "submitted a proposal to partner with the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, home of the Denver Broncos, to sponsor Denver's landmark stadium."

The only NFL player to openly advocate for medical marijuana has donated $80,000 to fund cannabis research on football players at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University.

BOULDER, Colo. - Is the NFL all wrong with regard to its ban on marijuana? A growing number of former and active players, as well as leading researchers at Johns Hopkins, are testing whether a compound found in hemp is a possible miracle cure for concussions and brain injuries.

Faced with traumatic brain injury, depression, chronic pain, and addictive medication, former NFL players are coming together in support of medical marijuana.

(CNN) The NFL and the NFL Players Association have a staunch policy prohibiting marijuana use, but some players are asking them to reconsider it, saying pot can be used for pain relief, and possibly as concussion prevention.

With the countdown underway for Super Bowl 50, there’s a renewed focus on the NFL’s high rate of injuries and concussions, and whether the league should be open to players using medical marijuana to treat their pain.

Ricky Williams doesn't shy away from his support for marijuana. He used the drug as a means of recovery from the pounding he took over his 10-year NFL career, which included two seasons (2002 and 2003) leading the league in rush attempts with a combined 775 carries.

Football players take an alarming array of pain medication to get back on the field but some believe medical cannabis is a safer and more effective alternative.