Debra Borchardt
The National Football League announced the award of $1 million in research funding to two teams of medical researchers at the University of California San Diego and the University of Regina. The announcement said that the studies will investigate the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and neuroprotection from concussion in elite football players, respectively. The research hopes to find better alternatives to pain management as professional athletes have struggled over the years with opioids being prescribed as the solution. The opioids have proven to be addictive and caused many other problems.
“As with the league’s broader approach to health and safety, we want to ensure that our players are receiving care that reflects the most up-to-date medical consensus,” said Dr. Allen Sills, NFL Chief Medical Officer. “While the burden of proof is high for NFL players who want to understand the impact of any medical decision on their performance, we are grateful that we have the opportunity to fund these scientifically-sound studies on the use of cannabinoids that may lead to the discovery of data-based evidence that could impact the pain management of our players.”
The NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee (PMC) began the process in June of 2021 when it called for proposals for the study that yielded 106 submissions. That group was whittled down to ten finalists that gave oral presentations and written materials to the committee.
A non-profit group that focuses on cannabis as a treatment alternative, Athletes For Care released a statement saying, “Athletes for CARE is happy to see this announcement from the NFL today about research on cannabinoids. It is especially promising that the research is focused on pain management and as a neuroprotection . These are two issues athletes from many high-impact sports face for the rest of their lives. We hope this is only the beginning of the investment in finding a solution for athletes as well as anyone who has suffered a traumatic brain injury or has long-term pain to manage.”
Award Recipients
The NFL has awarded a total of $1 million to:
(1) “Effects of Cannabinoids on Pain and Recovery from Sports-Related Injuries in Elite Athletes: A Randomized Clinical Trial” led by Drs. Thomas Marcotte and Mark Wallace, with colleagues at the University of California San Diego.
The primary aim of this clinical trial is to assess the therapeutic efficacy and adverse effects of ∆-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and combined THC/CBD, compared to placebo, for relief of post-competition soft-tissue injury pain in elite athletes. Elite athletes will vaporize treatments following game-related injuries, with outcomes monitored via remote phone apps. Bringing together a research team with decades of clinical cannabis research experience and an infrastructure provided by the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (cmcr.ucsd.edu), the findings from this study will provide key, preliminary data regarding the possible effectiveness of cannabinoids for sports-related injuries and inform future larger studies regarding study design and implementation challenges. (Description provided by: University of California San Diego)
The specific goal of this project is to determine whether cannabis/hemp based cannabinoids, i.e., cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can be used safely and effectively for pain management and to reduce the use of prescription medications including opioids in post-concussion syndrome athletes. An additional goal is to assess the neuroprotective properties of cannabinoids to reduce the incidence or severity of acute and chronic concussion in professional football players. Our research team of cerebrovascular and neuro-physiologists, clinical psychologists, pharmacokineticists, and physicians from the Universities of Regina, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia in Canada have extensive experience in concussion pathology and medical cannabis research. Our project will provide a foundation to explore alternative medical care related to brain trauma and chronic musculoskeletal pain for professional football players (Description provided by: University of Regina)
A former professional football player for the New York Jets Marvin Washington said, “When I first entered this space, the NFL was the Great White Whale in the sports world and it was always “IF”, then they changed their policy and the question became “When?”. I am glad the “when” has arrived with them funding research for Cannabinoids on pain management and as a nueroprotectant. Is one million enough? Probably not, but it’s a step in the right direction. We are not there yet, but there is a way forward, which is…Progress.”
While the results of the studies funded under this program may inform alternative pain management strategies, they will have no impact on the jointly administered Policy and Program on Substances of Abuse in place under the current NFL-NFLPA collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Elite professional athletes outside of the NFL will be participating in the studies funded under this award. NFL players are not permitted to participate.
Michelle Janikian
