At his 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement, legendary Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson issued a direct challenge to the world of sports. He appealed to major leagues, college programs, and the International Olympic Committee to finally acknowledge the medicinal value of cannabis.
“It’s about time that we recognize the potential of phytomedicines — plant medicines — to aid and improve the mental health and quality of life for so many,” Johnson stated. “These plants, primitive in nature, provide an alternative to their destructive counterparts: opioids.”
A year before Johnson’s induction, the National Football League (NFL) significantly relaxed its drug policy regarding marijuana. The league reduced fines, eliminated suspensions for positive tests, and doubled the threshold of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) allowed in a player’s system. Furthermore, the NFL is now funding clinical studies to determine if THC and cannabidiol (CBD) can serve as safer alternatives to opioids for treating chronic pain and the lingering effects of concussions.
Like the NFL, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and the National Hockey League have also dropped cannabis as a banned substance, as has the National Collegiate Athletic Association, although member schools can still prohibit its use. Athletes competing in Olympic trials and events, however, remain subject to testing for marijuana use.
Former college football standout Keith Davis views this shift through a more skeptical lens. While Davis understands that societal acceptance and medicinal appreciation have driven these policy changes, he worries about the trickle-down effect on younger generations. His primary concern is that increased tolerance in professional sports may embolden youth athletes to experiment with the substance prematurely and suffer health setbacks that could derail their aspirations to play at the next level.
Davis’s caution is deeply personal. He grew up in an environment ravaged by substance abuse, losing his father to addiction and suicide while witnessing his mother’s struggle with alcoholism. However, Davis keeps an open mind about using cannabis to treat pain, having witnessed the drug’s efficacy firsthand when his mother battled cancer.
“My mother began to use cannabis in a way that, at the time, wasn’t really popular,” Davis recalls. “But it began to help her with her pain.”
While playing linebacker at the University of Southern California Trojans in the 1980s, Mr. Davis saw teammates get suspended for using marijuana or other substances, potentially hurting their chances to play in the NFL, a dream he pursued.
After his attempt to make the New York Giants’ roster ended in a preseason injury, Mr. Davis went on to build a successful career as an entrepreneur and inspirational speaker, delivering more than 9,000 keynote addresses to audiences around the world.
A frequent speaker at youth leadership conferences, he encourages young people to avoid substance use and live a clean lifestyle. He finds the current cannabis-vaping trend among youths quite distressing.
“Especially with young high school players, a lot of them are into this vaping… and they don’t understand the dangers of vaping,” he says.
Mr. Davis shares a story of a young “phenomenal athlete” who unwittingly vaped marijuana laced with fentanyl. The young man suffered cardiac arrest followed by a stroke, leaving him unable to regain his athletic abilities.
“I’ve seen some athletes who, because of the vape, have lung issues and all kinds of issues and can’t play anymore,” he offers as a cautionary tale.
Spurred by concerns over the dangers vaping poses, Florida A&M University’s Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) is developing a youth vaping education initiative that is preparing to launch soon.
To get involved or learn more, visit MMERI.FAMU.edu.
Visit https://bit.ly/MMERIMarch2026 to watch MMERI’s Conversations on Cannabis Virtual Forum featuring Keith Davis discussing “Cannabis and Sports.”
