Around the country, attitudes have been altered as to the dangers of marijuana. Individual states have deemed it to be more of a personal health issue than a public safety one, and numerous ones have lightened their punishment for possession and use of the product. Some have made it completely legal and have turned it into a revenue generator. It appears some in the NFL are in favor of following suit (on the former) and that includes Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones. Jones, per Pro Football Talk, lobbied other owner’s at an owners-only meeting last week in Arizona for the eventual repeal of the league’s strict policy.

Jones also raised the question of the NFL’s position on marijuana. Jones, per a source who heard the comments, wants the league to drop its prohibition on marijuana use. Jones was reminded that the issue falls under the umbrella of collective bargaining, which would require the players to make one or more concessions in exchange for significant changes to the marijuana prohibition. Separately, the league office reiterated to PFT its position that any changes to the substance-abuse policy would occur within the confines of labor negotiations, and that the league is willing to listen to the medical community about any potential changes to the rules regarding marijuana.

To unpack this, the owners group feels that if they are going to allow players to smoke weed without any punishment from their employers, the players will have to give up something they’ve bargained for in return.

Jones is on the front line of one of the more public recent cases of marijuana discipline. Cowboys’ DE Randy Gregory tested positive for marijuana at the 2015 scouting combine. Gregory admitted he self-medicates for his bipolar disorder and has tested positive several times in his two years in the league. Gregory is currently serving his third suspension, a calendar year ban that will have him miss the entire 2017 season. He played just two games last season after serving the four and 10-game bans back-to-back.

Gregory voluntarily checked himself into rehab prior to 2016 training camp, but that didn’t suspend his testing and further bans ensued.

Under the current drug policy, players have to test positive four times for their first suspension. A missed test counts as a fail.

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