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JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- There are only two states in the country where recreational marijuana use is legal and the NFL teams from those two states are playing in Super Bowl XLVIII. So it probably shouldn't come as any surprise that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was asked about marijuana on Monday.
Carroll wasn't asked about recreational marijuana use though, he was asked his thoughts on the use of medicinal marijuana in the NFL.
"We have to continue to explore and compete to find ways that are going to make our game a better game and take care of our players in the best way possible," Carroll said."The fact that it's in the world of medicine is obviously something [that Commissioner Roger Goodell] realizes and him making the expression that we need to follow the information and the research absolutely I'm in support of. Regardless of what other stigmas may be involved, I think we have to do this because the world of medicine is trying to do the exact same thing and figure it out and they’re coming to some conclusions."
Carroll echoed the comments of Goodell, who said on Jan. 23 that the NFL might consider medicinal marijuana if it there's evidence that it helps treat concussions, "We will obviously follow signs," Goodell said. "We will follow medicine and if they determine this could be a proper usage in any context, we will consider that. Our medical experts are not saying that right now."
If the NFL's medical experts ever do get on board with medicinal marijuana, Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson doesn't seem like someone who would mind.
"I think anything that can make our job a little easier without sacrificing our health at the same time is good for the league, it's good for players," Robinson said. "I'm all for alternative forms of recovery and all those types of things -- hyperbaric chambers, o-zoning, whatever it may be. So, I'm all for it. Whatever can help the player, I'm for."
Medicinal marijuana is legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia, the NFL would probably need it to be legal in any state where it has a team before the league would make a move on allowing marijuana use for medicinal purposes.
