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Chris Long had some interesting things to say about his admitted cannabis use throughout his NFL playing days. The defender spoke to FOX News about his reasoning for smoking weed, and how he was able to keep it hidden from the league.
Long cited sleep as the biggest benefit to marijuana, saying it was a much safer route than pills. The Super Bowl winning lineman said he struggled with insomnia and didn’t want to risk suffering some of the negative effects of sleeping aids.
“What made me turn to cannabis is actually sleep. So, for me, it was insomnia, sleeping pills — all types of bad side effects — and it really just had a negative overall effect on my mental health and just on my sleep.
“The best day of my life was when I stopped using marijuana for recreation. I was like, ‘Oh, I can get real use out of this, this plant. This is a very functional thing for me and making that switch was such a game-changer. I also like to use cannabis for a whole host of reasons. But for me, what got me on was sleep.”
While it’s believed that weed is a much safer alternative for certain pains, aches, and medical conditions, there’s still a negative connotation among many. As a result, marijuana use is still banned by the NFL, though those restrictions are beginning to lessen over time.
With those restrictions in place, Chris Long revealed how he was able to beat NFL drug tests.
Long says he generally knew when the tests were coming, so he’d stop smoking right around the start of training camp up until his time came.
“You know when they are. The couple of weeks that I needed to be off, honestly, the time I would spend off cannabis before my test, I was the worst version of myself because I wasn’t restful. I was anxious.
“As soon as I got tested, it was a lot better. Then you can start, and then you kind of knew when to stop.”
Hopefully, the benefits of cannabis will soon be enough to outweigh that negative perception seen by the NFL and many others around the country.