Meet The Lead Professor In Charge Of The NFL’s Cannabis Research Initiatives

As you might have heard, the NFL is not only loosening its laws around marijuana, they are funding research at two universities to study the impact of cannabis compounds on players with concussions. 

One of the schools receiving funding for the research is the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. The NFL donated a generous $500,000 to the school for research into how cannabis compounds could prevent concussions, reduce their severity, or promote effective pain management. 

The lead professor in charge is Dr. Patrick Neary, who believes that CBD has incredible benefits like pain reduction and anti-inflammation. Additionally, he says THC is also a key cannabinoid for pain management. With this in mind, Dr. Neary wants to create a precise formulation carrying both these cannabinoids. 

The NFL’s reasoning behind the research was not just to reduce and heal the many concussions the league sees each season but to hopefully help individuals stop taking prescription pain medications and lean onto healthier and less addictive alternatives. 

The project is said to take about three years, but Dr. Neary plans to finish that precise formulation by the time football season rolls back around. However, he will first run an analysis on players from the University of Regina Rams, the USask Huskies, the Saskatoon Hilltops, the Regina Thunder, and the Okanagan Suns. 

Reports say the analysis will test the formulation in University players by using the dosage for half the season and a placebo for the other half. Finally, by the end of the next football season, Dr. Neary will give the formulation to former athletes like football and rugby players to examine whether or not it’s effective for chronic pain management. 

The other schools conducting similar research are the University of Saskatoon and the University of British Columbia. In a recent press release regarding the research initiative, NFL Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Allen Stills, said it’s his duty to ensure NFL players “are receiving care that reflects the most up-to-date medical consensus.”

Finally, he and the league’s medical team are “grateful” to have an opportunity to fund scientific studies regarding cannabinoids and how it may lead to the “discovery of data-based evidence that could impact the pain management of our players.”