The NFL and NFL Players Association announced Wednesday that they modified their drug policies and, among other changes, have added synthetic marijuana to the list of banned substances.
Also known as “Spice,” “K2” and “Blaze,” synthetic marijuana has been added to the standard testing panel for substances of abuse, and players are banned from having more than 2.5 nanograms of synthetic cannabinoids per milliliter of urine.
A growing contingent of former and current players have advocated for the allowance of natural cannabis — both whole-plant cannabis and the non-psychoactive compound, cannabidiol — for pain management and for treating the symptoms of traumatic brain injury.