--- description: A former tight end says pot may be a safer alternative to prescription pain meds title: Former NFLer Says the League Should Permit Pot image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt214655d453a54c76/6987823906f2c165c133447b/92033760ab334ff18aea62cce852da9c-0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [NFL](/tag/nfl/) ## NFL Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Former NFLer Says the League Should Permit Pot by [Eliza Gray](/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2015 3:21 PM CUT  Former Denver Bronco Nate Jackson speaks during a cannabis industry expo in Denver, March 4, 2015. Former Denver Bronco Nate Jackson speaks during a cannabis industry expo in Denver, March 4, 2015.Brennan Linsley—AP by [Eliza Gray](/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2015 3:21 PM CUT Former Denver Broncos tight end Nate Jackson said Wednesday that [he thinks the NFL will eventually allow players to use marijuana](http://www.thecannabist.co/2015/03/04/nfl-marijuana-policy-denver-broncos-te-nate-jackson/31138/ "undefined"). “They’re aware that probably over half of their players smoke weed,” Jackson said at a marijuana business conference, in remarks reported by the Associated Press. “They’ve been doing it since they were teenagers. The fact that they’ve been doing it that whole time and still made it to the NFL and are able to satisfy the demands of very, very strict employers on a daily basis means that their marijuana use is in check.” Jackson argued the NFL would eventually change its policy because, he said, the drug is a safer alternative for injured players looking to medicate than highly addictive prescription pain pills. “I feel like I exited the game with my mind intact,” said Jackson, who played six seasons for the Broncos. “And I credit that to marijuana in a lot of ways and not getting hooked on these pain pills that are recklessly distributed in the league when a guy gets an injury.” An NFL spokesman said that “at this time, the medical advisers to our drug program tell us that there is no need for medical marijuana to be prescribed to an NFL player.” **MORE:** [The Rise of Fake Pot](http://time.com/57167/rise-of-fake-pot/ "undefined") \[[_AP_](http://www.thecannabist.co/2015/03/04/nfl-marijuana-policy-denver-broncos-te-nate-jackson/31138/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3733344/marijuana-pot-nfl-nate-jackson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3733344/marijuana-pot-nfl-nate-jackson/"},"headline":"Former NFLer Says the League Should Permit Pot","datePublished":"2015-03-05T15:21:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:56:18.657Z","description":"A former tight end says pot may be a safer alternative to prescription pain meds","url":"https://time.com/3733344/marijuana-pot-nfl-nate-jackson/","keywords":["NFL"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt214655d453a54c76/6987823906f2c165c133447b/92033760ab334ff18aea62cce852da9c-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Gray","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-gray/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt214655d453a54c76/6987823906f2c165c133447b/92033760ab334ff18aea62cce852da9c-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Nate Jackson","caption":"Former Denver Bronco Nate Jackson speaks during a cannabis industry expo in Denver, March 4, 2015.","creditText":"Brennan Linsley—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nfl/","name":"NFL"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3733344/marijuana-pot-nfl-nate-jackson/","name":"Former NFLer Says the League Should Permit Pot"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids","description":"The story of a family's illegal cross-country drive to transport marijuana oil for their epileptic 3-year-old daughter. A look inside the quasi-legal, science free world of medical marijuana for children from TIME's Red Border Films","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6Ic4KUCK/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-21T21:04:57.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6Ic4KUCK.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3733344/marijuana-pot-nfl-nate-jackson/","duration":"PT16M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3733344/marijuana-pot-nfl-nate-jackson/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```