There have been a number of hockey players that have come out in support of using marijuana over the years. Many of these athletes have advocated for this once they retired to avoid being penalized by the NHL. These players have a variety of reasons for supporting this.
Darren McCarty
As a former enforcer for the Detroit Red Wings, Darren McCarty has become a fairly vocal proponent of marijuana use for professional athletes. He claims that using marijuana helped him to deal with his severe addiction to prescription painkillers as well as alcohol. McCarty helped to earn his team four different Stanley Cup Championships over the years.
Riley Cote
Riley Cote was an enforcer for the Philadelphia Flyers. He has since become an assistant coach for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, which is in the American Hockey League. Since retiring, Cote helped found BodyCheck Wellness, which is a company that makes hemp-derived products. It sells only natural products like full-spectrum CBD, hemp oil infused salves, and hemp extracts.
Eric Godard
Godard once served as a right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames, and New York Islanders. He has spoken out about this own marijuana use while in the NHL, advocating for its use for numerous reasons. He is also an Athlete Ambassador for Athletes for CARE.
Justin Selman
Selman was once the captain of University of Michigan’s hockey team. He was forced to retire after sustaining a number of concussions throughout multiple games. He has since come out to talk about how marijuana helped him recover from a variety of injuries that he sustained. He is one of the biggest former NHL advocated of cannabis use today.
Marvin Degon
Marvin Degon is playing for the Austrian Hockey League, but he played four years of college hockey with the UMASS Minutemen men’s ice hockey team. He is another well-known hockey player who has gone on record strongly advocating for marijuana use among athletes.
Matt Lashoff
Drafted by the Boston Bruins back in 2005, Matt Lashoff is a well known professional hockey player. As an American Hockey League All Star, Lashoff now promotes natural alternatives to prescription pain killers and other medications. He has talked extensively about how marijuana has helped to cope with injuries sustained during games throughout his career.
Carter Camper
Carter Camper plays for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American Hockey League. He has a very clear and strong position supporting marijuana use for athletes. He is another athlete ambassador for Athletes for CARE.
Rob Schremp
Schremp played a total of 12 seasons for the Edmonton Oilers starting back in 2004. He cites the birth of his daughter in 2018 as being the reason he decided to try marijuana for pain management. After sustaining some very serious injuries, he became desperate to find a natural solution.
Joseph Blandisi
As a professional hockey player that hails from Canada, Joseph Blandisi is a big supporter of marijuana usage. He now plays in the forward position for the Anaheim Ducks in the National Hockey League. Blandisi has given a number of interviews over the last several years supporting his fellow players in using marijuana to cope with pain.
Final Thoughts
An increasing number of professional hockey players have started advocating for the usage of marijuana for pain management and other reasons. While it was once considered taboo in this sport, more and more players are coming out in support of it. There are even quite few former NHL players that have gone on to run cannabis related businesses. Many people have reported that marijuana use is widespread through the NHL today.