Pro MMA fighter and NORML supporter Toby ‘Tigerheart’ Grear has challenged the California State Athletic Commission on their prohibition of medical cannabis use by sanctioned competitors.
Toby spoke at this year’s national conference on a panel that examined cannabis use among professional athletes.
Every year dozens of professional athletes are arrested or negatively impacted by drug testing rules. This week’s example is from Washington where recent National League Cy Young winner, pitcher Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, became one of America’s approximately 750,000 annual cannabis possession arrest cases. Little known is that in Washington there is an automatic one day in jail penalty for getting caught with any amount of cannabis.
Next time a prohibitionist from law enforcement, an anti-drug bureaucracy or media pundit claims that ‘no one goes to jail for using or possessing cannabis’ you can rightly let them know that they’re misinformed, as the state of Washington, along with numerous other state and county governments, routinely incarcerate cannabis consumers caught on little more than personal possession charges. President Bush’s drug czar, John Walters, claimed that no gets arrested or goes to jail for cannabis. That such is as rare as unicorns.
However, Mr. Lincecum apparently has already copped a plea that will allow him to skip the one day incarceration. Lucky him!
Will a cannabis consumer and accomplished professional athlete like Tim Lincecum step up like Toby, Mark and Rob have? The reform of cannabis laws is certainly made easier when accomplished, professional athletes step to the fore with their self-interested advocacy.
“Will a cannabis consumer and accomplished professional athlete like Tim Lincecum step up like Toby, Mark and Rob have? ”
Or will he be a obedient little dog like Phelps?
Unfortunately, a Pro MMA fighter doesn’t hold as much weight compared to other pro athletes. If the image for marijuana reform is professional face bashing what does that look like on capitol hill.
Someone help me understand…My current understanding of the Controlled Substances Act allows for law enforcement to go after Cannibus users with the idea that “Possesors of Cannibus” cause a threat to “PUBLIC SAFETY”. BUT how can any ONE INDIVIDUAL be threatening public safety simply by POSSESING Cannibus??? I see how it can be applied by prohibitionists against distributors to an (arguably) uninformed person not knowing fully what they are getting… Meaning as a Privat Citizen,if you posses Cannibus with NO intent of Distributing, it seems that one MIGHT (Arguably) have a PRIVATE SAFETY RISK but not a PUBLIC SAFETY RISK as addressed by the CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT. How can the constitutionality of the Controlled Substances Act (and subsequent legislative penalties) be brought to question “As Applied” to “Personal Possesion”??? Anybody…..
Great effort on Toby’s part. One rhetorical question would be, did the commission listen to him? I realize they heard him however, did they listen?
It’s obvious we need to keep pounding away at this.
“The reform of cannabis laws is certainly made easier when accomplished, professional athletes step to the fore with their self-interested advocacy.”
Good call, and hopefully the pro athletes will stop being in alcohol campaigns as well. Thanks for your work, I really appreciate the change you guys helping to make.
If so many athletes and stars are regular cannabis users, why don’t we see more of them in support of NORML?
……….and what would happen if he was stopped with an unopened fifth of whiskey and a bottle of sleeping pills put out by the Pharmaceutical Companies…….. ………….NOTHING , that’s what ! Yet these drugs kill more people and cause more traffic fatalities than all drugs combined .Although it doesn’t appear to be the case in this particular incident Marijuana unlike Alcohol can also be a deterrent to aggressive driving .
I am in no way encouraging driving while using
Marijuana since the use of Cannabis often effects
a user or drivers differently .
Final note ;
Seems the best and most talented professionals of the World use Marijuana . People like , Michael Jackson and Michael Phelps to name a few .
I’m confused on this one. If people are in good enogh health to be an athelete then why are they in bad enough health to be smoking marijuana? That doesn’t make sense to me. Am I reading this article wrong? I don’t believe in medical marijuana laws. I believe it should be legal for everyone that wants to smoke it as long as they are an adult. Why should my best friend be allowed to smoke just because she is on medical disability and not me because I’m in perfect health? No one can make me believe that people on medical marijuana does not like getting high. The laws are letting them get high and not go to jail for it. I’m in Alabama and medical marijuana is not allowed. Good for you Alabama lawmakers. Let the sick go to jail too.
Professional Athlete’s shouldn’t be looked down on for smoking cannabis. Phelps was pretty much a sell out when it came down to it. At least some people and say what they believe in.
This is awesome. It started with Rob-Van-Dam (as my memmory tells it). Now, we have other sports figures “coming out of the closet,” so to speak. If we get more of them speaking out this way, there goes the prohib argument and stereotype of the lazy pot head.
Why don’t someone put a test on one of the network shows 20/20,nightline…Have someone drink a couple six packs and do a driving test.Then have someone smoke a couple bones. and compare the results. I don’t think the public is aware that weed is much safer.We also need to find a way to drug test for weed that will show if you were high during the test,not last night or a couple weeks ago.People are loosing their jobs for being high in their own homes,not for being high on the job. This is CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!
i knew tim lickscum was a stoner or at least a medical cannabis user. i say his name “lickscum” because i am a Dodgers fan and anyone who knows baseball knows the near 100 year rivalry the Dodger/Giants have. i feel for Tim as a fellow medical cannabis patient/recreational user.i support him 100% but someone sais will he speak out or will he be an obedient little dog i do hope he chooses the former,however it will likely be the latter,unfortunately.
I get so sick of these prohibs saying no one gets arrested and goes to jail. As many of you, I have friends who have been arrested for small amount and life ruined due to it. Recently a friend just moved to washington state to live with his mom and start over. He couldnt get even the shittiest of job in this area. They all do drug testing and background checks. ANY possesion charge get your application tossed in the garbage. This guy works hard and is an nice guy. How is it right to ruin people like this over something that cant be controled ?
Cannabis dangerous? HA HA. Tell that to my uncle who was addicted to Pharmacuticals, lost his mind and nearly killed his girl friend. Too bad for him and his girl friend huh. She has scars and hes in prison. How bout we worry about the truely dangerous drugs…..BIG PHARMS DRUGS!
This world of ours makes less and less sense everyday. Governments seem backward and useless and people are seeming less sensible to me. Am I alone….?
this medicine can be used with a meditative state after a hard training period in mixed martial arts for adults ,there for the flower could be spirt medicine bringing back a worn out person after a brutal work out. Back to life, so they can eat, meditate ,stretch, recuperate ing ,and with eating or any adjustments of attitude people may need .im sure you know a few of them? And other things like pain relief there are a wide variety of conditions one needs the plant medicine for and should have the right to use the plant,as with other foods, herbs and vitamins for heath you need .Another blatant lie of propaganda is the gate way drug theory of marijuana .When it is quite the opposite were as hard drugs and alcohol lead you more in the wrong direction to be desperate or with your guard down . Marijuana it is one of the safest out of all substances to use medical or spiritual or hemp for material.And marijuana over the years has had some wrong labels placed on to it with malicious intent ,from corporations and governments around the world with human rights violated as well . as natural growth forest trees are being cut for material. Hemp material is still being suppressed .
Hey Bayou23
It’s up to you to do whatever you can to get your state to come into the 21stcentury and allow MM. Write all of your rep’s and urge them to get legislation going, join NORML, write to local newspapers, anything is better than nothing.
LLLou
At least Tim Lincecum didn’t pull a Phelps and pretend it was a mistake to smoke pot. Timmy enjoys using marijuana obviously. He should, there isn’t anything wrong in doing so.
Tim Lincecum for Cy Young 2009.
***NORML would do good by trying to get Tim to be a true professional athlete in favor of changing marijuana laws.
NORML you NEED Tim Lincecum.
what about New York? please help
#11 Bayou23 – Dude, you could say the same things about people on prescription painkillers. And you’d be wrong there too. There is an incredibly large amount of evidence that cannabis is beneficial to people in a medical context. And you should know, cannabis being accepted as something that can help people is an important step to eventual legalization, even though it shouldn’t have to be. So please, please stop spreading doubt about medical cannabis and do some research. Click the Medical Use link on the left side of this page.
i was a athlete during high school but decided to work instead of taking my scholarship and going to college I started smoking at a early age and played most of the time stoned In my senior year i was offered numerous scholarships in more than one sport.Twelve years later i decided to go to college and walked onto a division one football team at the age of 31 The school was drug testing so I quit smoking one year to fullfill a dream of playing football at that level I made the team as one of only three walk ons out of twenty I played that year but decided in my second year to quit because they continued drug testing Because i choose to continue smoking i missed out on being on a division one national championship team the only one in this schools history At thirty one i was competing with and against the best we had to offer and more than holding my own As of today i am one of the oldest persons to ever play in a division 1 bowl game i love training stoned michael phelps you are a sell out
If a pothead takes a TOKE in the middle of the woods; and there is not a prohibitionist
to arrest and hassle them(the pothead)…..
Is the pothead still a criminal??????
It’s to bad that so many pro athletes chicken out and instead answer to teams, agents, coaches, commissioners, advertising contracts, etc. For Toby Grear to come out in support of marijuana reform, great! Not surprising he’s fighting them on this issue.
He’s a champion in and out of the cage.
TigerHeart is fighting next month in Hollywood as the main card on a big event out there. He made it happen to support and be there at this year’s MassCann/NORML Boston Freedom Rally. Check him out in Hollywood, he also runs a gym.
http://truewarriorfitness.com
#11 There are things cannabis may help with that do not leave one in the image of “poor health” per se. For some migraines can come and go for instance but otherwise the person is in perfect health.
The use as a recovery agent after exertion is touted by many athletes as well. Arthritis also comes to mind. It is a progressive that doesn’t instantly cripple a person but slowly leads to pain that has to be managed somehow or another.
The same statement about medical users liking to get high must apply to all those opiate derivative people out there as well then. People on morphine and oxycontin etc must all just like being high on those drugs and the secondary effects of pain relief is a just a nice by-product?
I’ve met more than a few medical cannabis users who would prefer that they didn’t incur such a state of mind. Though use of edibles and vaporizers can alter the delivery method to help mitigate some of that effect. Especially when used to ensure restful sleep and not taken during “business hours” as it were.
Careful using such an argument about just wanting to get high. The idea, even if unfair, is to allow people who suffer medical malady to have fewer burdens in their lives. For some, the high they may get from using such things is surely a welcome change of state from that of any sort of suffering.
R.O.E.: No way man you are not alone on this at all. I live in a dinky little town, and 1. my little brother did seven days and 2500 dollas restitution for LESS than a gram.
2. Two of my freinds were raided and both had only pipes and no weed. and 3., They randomly search people with no cause for pot in this town.
These idiot lawmakers arent sayin no ones fuckd for pot bcause they misinformed no! They are just lying.
Interesting how a state like WA can be de-criminalized and still be so backwards. I have noticed this in many states (CA especially) where de-crim seems to be just a statute on the books and does not reflect the huge INDUSTRY that LEO has made pot into.
I’ve been trying to figure out why marijuana hasn’t been legalized for a long time now. It would be amazing if the government did something right for a change. I think the government doesn’t want to legalize marijuana because it would put a number of police officers and other government people out of work.
THEY KEEP MENTIONING THE DRUG TESTING .DON’T
GO GET IT ? THE DRUG TESTING KIT WAS
A CLEVER WAY TO PROMOTE THEIR OWN DRUGS . SATAN
HAS DECEIVED YOU .THE GREAT SATAN INVENTED THE
DRUG TESTING KIT ……….
” AND HAS DECEIVED THE WHOLE WORLD “
#14
they did studies of that nature in the netherlands….a quick google search should be adequate.
#14
they did studies of that nature in the netherlands….a quick google search should be adequate.
change will come, last week 30 people on our university football team tested positive in a random drug test.
What about players like Randy Moss he’s a damn good player. He should stand up as well.
And what about Iowa?From what i hear their not even gonna pass medical, Well my words to u mr gov. TIME TO MOVE then when the rest of iowa does, i want u wake up, but by then it could be to late lol i jus might go to Breckenridge just so i can hav ACCEPTENCE,FREEDOM
OVER A PLANT ?????????????????????? A PLANT? ……….ITS A F@#$KIN PLANT. Jus can not beleive this GOV.
LOL @ 23 Samson
That was the funniest thing I read all day. Thank you.
You’re not alone #16 R.O.E. Your last paragraph makes perfect sense to me. Heavy sigh …….
R.O.E. couldnt have said it better myself. seems that since probably 2/3 of the 20th century our govt. was working like a well oiled machine (getting things done) but since the mid 60s its been nothing but total bullshit decisions and working against its people.kinda saddening as an american that i cant say im genuinely proud to be American i am,however,very grateful i am one and grateful for all those guys out there my age and younger who are willing to die just so i can sit on my ass, collect soc sec and smoke pot (recently became disabled) well, that said, R.O.E. totally agree!!!
Michael Phelps, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and … the name escapes me but one of the Superbowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers all use cannabis.
Imagine how successful they would(n’t) have been if they regularly consumed alcohol.