“This pain is never going away. My body is damaged. I have to manage it somehow. Managing it with pills was slowly killing me. Now I’m able to function and be extremely efficient by figuring out how to use different formulations of cannabis.” Many former NFL players manage their pain with marijuana. And the league finally appears to be ready to consider the notion that current players should be able to do the same. I doubt pot will be a one-stop solution for the remarkable physical pain associated with playing pro football. But the fact that the league has for years happily pushed much stronger and more dangerous prescription painkillers, while demonizing marijuana, is a perfect microcosm of the insane drug policies that have been damaging American for decades.