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Jake Plummer Pushes NFL To Research Possible Marijuana Benefits

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Like many Coloradans, former Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer is a regular user of marijuana. He admitted this to ESPN a few years ago.

But there's a difference between using it in a state where it's legal and becoming an advocate for its usage for medical reasons in the NFL, which is certainly a touchy area. Plummer is now taking that step.

Plummer, who lives in Boulder, says he has personally seen great benefits from cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive component of marijuana.

Jake Plummer
Jake Plummer (credit: Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary)

It's also known as CBD, and Plummer told Alex Marvez on SiriusXM NFL Radio this month that he has been taking the prescribed oil for about a year.

"I'm 41 and the Broncos need a new quarterback," he said on the satellite radio station. "I'm not thinking about it but the thought crossed my mind because my body feels great after playing for 10 years in the league and being retired. ... I owe a lot of that to CBD and what it's done for me."

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Plummer called CBD a "wonder medicine." He has asked that league officials and the NFL Players Association relax their rules to allow the research of marijuana as a treatment for current and former players' ailments. That would include pain and possibly degenerative brain disease, the latter of which the league is talking about after years of silence on the matter.

"We're just hoping to educate people because in the NFL, you bang your head ... you're not going to see that go away. People have multiple ailments and things they deal with when not only when they are playing but after," he said.

Plummer isn't alone in pushing for the research. Active player Eugene Monroe of the Baltimore Ravens has been speaking out this month about his support for research of marijuana benefits in the NFL, including one on Wednesday morning which stated "Let's see how cannabinoids can really protect the brain in the event of traumatic stress."

"We need more guys like Eugene Monroe to take a stand on this," Plummer said on the radio show.

A large percentage of active NFL players are believed to use pot for recreational or pain-management purposes, but the league's drug policy currently includes testing for it.

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