text: Cannabis Is Bad, Bad, Bad. So Say The Feds, The NFL, And Life Insurance Companies - Canna Law Blog™
  We all know how the Feds treat marijuana as a Schedule 1 narcotic, deeming it as dangerous as heroin and more dangerous than OxyContin or meth. Yeah, right. But we are used to that.
  What is crazy though is how some companies actually seem to buy into this over-the-top classification of pot.
  The NFL for one. It is widely believed that many (most?) NFL players use cannabis either for recreational or medicinal purposes, or both (so much so that the NFL is beginning to re-think its marijuana policy). The medicinal purposes are mostly to deal with the constant physical pain of playing in the NFL. Some take it to avoid having to take more powerful (and potentially far more harmful) drugs for the pain. The NFL has traditionally treated marijuana use very harshly, as recently evidenced by Josh Gordon's season-long suspension after testing positive for cannabis.
  This reefer madness attitude also extends to most public and private employers, with few exceptions. Virtually every State's marijuana laws allow employers to fire people for testing positive for marijuana. If an employer will tolerate addictions to alcohol and prescription pain pills (which are certainly more destructive and debilitating than marijuana), why the hypocritical stance when it comes to marijuana, especially in States where cannabis is legal?
  Life insurance companies also seem to have a reefer madness mentality. We are aware of a case where an individual admitted on a life insurance application that he used medical marijuana (instead of Ambien) a few times a year as a sleep remedy for jet-lag. He admitted this on his life insurance application and the life insurance companies deemed him to be a "drug-user" and doubled the monthly cost of his life insurance policy. Had this person admitted to frequent use of Ambien instead, his premiums would have remained the same.
  This all goes back to the fundamental and underlying issue that we will not be achieving marijuana rationality unless and until Congress re-thinks its marijuana drug policy. At minimum, we need it stricken as a Schedule 1 narcotic.