JERSEY CITY, N.J., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Coach Pete Carroll, in New Jersey as the Seattle Seahawks prepare for the Super Bowl, suggested medical marijuana should go off the banned substance list.
Carroll, meeting with reporters after his team's first practice Monday, did not explicitly endorse medical marijuana, ESPN reported. National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell said last week the NFL should look into whether marijuana could be useful in the treatment of concussions.
"I would say that we have to explore and find ways to make our game a better game and take care of our players in whatever way possible," Carroll said at a news conference. "Regardless of what other stigmas might be involved, we have to do this because the world of medicine is doing this."
Medical marijuana is legal in 20 states, including Washington, and recreational marijuana in two. Colorado began its first legal sales on New Year's Day, but Washington is still working out the details.
Marijuana for any purpose continues to be illegal under federal law, which means the NFL would have trouble taking it off the banned substance list.
