NHL and Players' Association updating policy regarding marijuana use

With cannabis officially becoming legal for recreational use across Canada earlier this month, a whole new world has opened up for a number of the country’s citizens. That includes, of course, NHLers. With teams in seven of Canada’s largest cities there’s a large contingent of NHL players who can now legally use marijuana medicinally or recreationally without any governmental restrictions. 

Of course, the NHL and the NHLPA both have drug policies that test for the presence of cannabis, but neither party levies any punishment for positive test results, unlike the NFL, NBA or MLB. In fact, the NHL is on the leading edge when it comes to their stance on marijuana, a stance that may become even more relaxed if NHLPA head Glenn Healy has his way.

In a recent column for USA Today, Kevin Allen spoke with both Healy and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly about cannabis use in the NHL and how things are evolving given new legislations and changing opinions on the drug.

Healy, who was a long timer NHL goaltender mostly known for his time with the New York Islanders, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs, admits that the NHLPA is currently conducting medical studies to determine the benefit of marijuana treatment, specifically for retired players who have become dependant on opioid pain killers. 

“Give me the science first and last because you can’t refute science,” Healy told Allen. “You can disagree with me on politics or whether you like bagpipes, but you can’t disagree on science.”

Healy hopes that CBD (cannabidiol), the non-psycho active ingredient in marijuana that does NOT give you a “high” feeling, can help former players cut back on opioid reliance. “I’ve had players call me and say, ‘I wish you knew me when I was me,’ ” Healy said. “That’s hard to hear.”

"If it is Vicodin or OxyContin and I can take him from four (pills a day) to two, and he gets 50% of his day back, I win,” Healy said. “If I get him to zero, then order the rings. But it has to be based on science. It can’t be based on profit. It can’t be based on, ‘Someone told me it works.’ It can’t be based on there could be money. It has to be based on science telling me we can get people functionally integrated again.”

Daly maintains that the NHL’s policy has not changed regarding marijuana, but that it does reserve the right to take action should a player become dependant on the drug. “We still consider marijuana a drug of abuse,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. “And our program allows for intervention in appropriate cases.”

While the science still may be out, Healy is at the very least hopeful that the league and the PA can make some breakthroughs regarding mental health for players who simply have lost their sense of self as a result of their devastating injuries. “I’m not just talking about OxyContin or Vicodin,” he said. “It could be depression. It could be anger. It could be anxiety. It could be joint pain. It could be a lot of things. Or, after repeated blows to the head, it leaves you not in functional agreement with your world. And pretty soon, your world will not be in agreement with you. …

“I don’t want to paint a sad-sack picture of the alumni association – ‘Whoa is us.’ What I want to paint is hope. This is hope. If there is a player who is not functionally integrated, he has hope. That’s what I want to give him.”