Billboard Posted in Front of Denver Broncos Stadium Calls on NFL to Stop Punishing Players for Using Marijuana

A press conference was held in Denver today.

Photos courtesy: The Marijuana Policy Project

(DENVER) - A billboard calling on the National Football League to stop punishing players for using marijuana was posted Wednesday in front of Sports Authority Field at Mile High, just one day before the Denver Broncos host the first NFL regular season game of the year.

The 48-foot-wide Broncos-themed billboard highlights the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol and urges the NFL to "stop driving players to drink" with harsh penalties for marijuana use, noting that, "A safer choice is now legal (here)." Colorado voters approved an initiative in November making marijuana legal for adults, and the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week that it will allow the state to move forward with regulating marijuana cultivation and retail sales.

The organization that produced the ad, the Marijuana Policy Project, has also launched a Change.org petition directed at NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, calling on the NFL to change its marijuana policy. The petition can be found at http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org/Football

"For years, the NFL has been punishing players for using marijuana despite the fact that it is far less harmful than alcohol, a substance widely embraced by the league," said Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. "The league would never punish a player simply for having a couple beers, so why does it penalize them for using a substance that is less toxic, less addictive, and less likely to contribute to violence?

"The NFL's harsh marijuana penalties do nothing to promote the health and safety of the players," Tvert said. "If anything, they put players in danger by steering them toward using alcohol and away from making the safer choice to use marijuana instead. We hope Commissioner Goodell will explain why the NFL is willing to promote the use of alcohol among its players and fans, but unwilling to recognize that a safer alternative is now legal here."

The Marijuana Policy Project, the nation’s largest marijuana-policy-reform organization, has been responsible for changing most state-level marijuana laws since 2000. For more information, visit http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.

Salem-News.com Marijuana Coverage

Where and How to Smoke Legal Marijuana without Fear of Arrest in the U.S.

Eulogy of a Great Warrior: Hoss Plourde

The Ripple Effect How Marijuana Laws Are Impacting Society

Audit the Audit

Welcome Home, Tom

Comments Leave a comment on this story.

Name:

All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.

---

moido September 29, 2013 10:26 am (Pacific time)

I was in awe of how he could afford such a piece of land.

[Return to Top]

---

©2025 Salem-News.com. All opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Salem-News.com.