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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said the league has no plans to remove marijuana from its list of banned substances.

(Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

Now that Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie told an interviewer the NFL needs to re-think its ban on marijuana because "players are going to do it anyway," it's important to understand what Cromartie was really saying: That, well, players are going to smoke weed anyway, be it for recreational purposes or to manage the extraordinary pain the game inflicts on their bodies.

The league's decision to test for marijuana dates to a time when the public was far less accepting of its use than it is today.

But how do players continue to smoke weed if the NFL tests for it? That's easy: For players who have not previously tested positive or been arrested on drug-related charges, the league's random testing for what it calls "substances of abuse" only takes place for approximately four months out of the year, all of it during the offseason.

According to the league's drug policy, that testing only happens between April 20 and Aug. 9, though players signed or acquired after Aug. 9 can be tested later than that if they haven't been already. In addition, rookies and any players not under contract with a team at the end of the prior season are also subject to pre-employment testing.

The policy goes on to identify exactly which drugs it characterizes as "substances of abuse" and are subject to testing:

• Cocaine

• Marijuana

• "Amphetamines and its analogs"

• Opiates ("total morphine and codeine")

• Opioids ("hydrocodone, oxycodone")

• PCP

• "MDMA and its analogues"

The "substances of abuse" testing should not be confused with the testing for performance-enhancing drugs. As NFL spokesman Greg Aiello explained to MLive.com in 2012:

The reason for this? Aiello again, also via MLive.com:

A failed test or a "behavior" issue such as a drug-related arrest will put a player into Stage One of the league's intervention program. There is no discipline such as a suspension in Stage One; a player is instead subject to additional testing and a treatment program at the discretion of the league's medical director.

It is then up to the medical director to determine whether a player advances to Stage Two of the program, even if the player has not successfully completed Stage One. Discipline can be meted out in Stage Two—a violation for a player in Stage Two who has completed Stage One is a fine of up to four games' pay; a violation for a player in Stage two who has not completed Stage One is a four-game suspension.

A second positive test in Stage Two or two instances of failure to cooperate with the program, or one positive test plus one instance of failure to cooperate will put a player in Stage Three, where he must remain for the rest of his career and be subject to random, unannounced testing. Failure to cooperate or a positive test in Stage Three will result in a one-year banishment.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said he is open to having the league allow marijuana use for medical purposes. He also said the league has no plans to remove weed from its list of banned substances.

