Cannabis and Sports - Tackling What Athletes Need to Know

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
From the WA and M Studio on the campus of
Florida A and M University.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
This is Mary Forum Radio, a weekly conversation on the
education and research of the medical marijuana being conducted at BAMUNI.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
Hi.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm Heidi Otway, your host for this conversation on Cannabis
virtual form, brought to you by the Medical Marijuana Education
and Research Initiative at Florida and M University. In this conversation,
we're talking about cannabis used by professional and young athletes
and how some sports and high profile players are weighing

(00:34):
in on the risk and benefits of using cannabis. So
let's talk and learn about this subject with our guests.
Keith Davis is an entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, and former professional
athlete who has delivered more than nine thousand keynote presentations
that inspire, motivate, and uplift millions of people around the world.

(00:58):
His clients include top business executives, world class educators, and
some of the world's highest performing athletes. He's accomplished this
despite growing up in situations where drug use and abuse
were common. You'll hear more about his life changing experiences
during this forum to everyone watching please share the link

(01:20):
to this form on your social media channels so others
can learn about this topic. We also want you to
tell us what you think about this forum by completing
the survey that'll be posted on Mary's social media pages.
Your name will be entered into a drawing in April
twenty twenty six to win a one hundred dollars gift
card provided by one of Mary's partners. Now, let's start

(01:42):
this conversation on cannabis, Keith. Before we dive into the
conversation on cannabis, I read your background and I find
it so interesting what you've experienced. Can you share an
overview of your personal and career journey?

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Sure, Heidi, And it's a pleasure to be on a
show with you and just to share some insight that
might help those who are listening just understand a little
bit more involving their communities or whatever sport they played. So,
as you mentioned, I played my college football for the
University of Southern California, and then I was a free

(02:18):
agent with the New York Giants just briefly as well.
But before that, I was born and raised writing the
heart of south central Los Angeles and a neighborhood infested
with just drug abuse, gang violence, poverty, and all those
types of issues.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
And it wasn't just my neighborhood.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
It was also very close to me in terms of
family members that were dealing with addictions and all types
of issues as well.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
My mother.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Had just her own battle with alcohol, use of drugs,
different things like that. But my father, he got involved
with using drugs, selling drugs. And my father committed suicide
when I was about four years old. So that led
to us moving all over the city of la And

(03:16):
by the time I was about fifteen years old, I
had already changed schools maybe nineteen different times, and then
from there. Funny story is just in the neighborhood that
I was in, it was just so rough and so
many issues, but me wanting to play football. One day,
I just got on the bus. I had tears in
my eyes, wondering why me, Why was I born in

(03:39):
his family? Why do I have to live in this neighborhood.
Why I'm just crying?

Speaker 1 (03:43):
Why?

Speaker 3 (03:43):
Why?

Speaker 2 (03:44):
So I just get on the bus early one morning
and I just ride the bus to the richest part
of Los Angeles, California, which is Beverly Hills, get off
the bus and I just walk into the high school
that's there and tell them I live in Beverly Hills.
I gave him an address of a mansion that was
down the street, and I just tried to enroll myself.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
You were really trying to get out. Yeah, they wouldn't
let me roll.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
But long story short, I didn't get to that school,
but I finally ended up at another school that gave
me an opportunity, ended up getting scholarship, going to USC
became an academic All American nominee, you know, All Conference player,
and then got a chance to sign as a free
agent with the New York Giants.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
But the the issues that that.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
We're talking about today, I think it's relevant because, you know,
my mother went through some some medical issues that were
detrimental to her health and fighting cancer and this how
you know, even the whole story of cannabis came about
because my mother began to use cannabis in a way

(04:46):
that at that time wasn't really popular, but it began
to help her with her paying and and so just
allowed me a little bit of interest in doing the
show with you as well.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
So yeah, yeah, well, thank you for sharing your story
and you did mentioned, but you also won a Rose Bowl.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, we we had some very
good teams at University Southern Cal want two packed ten championships,
once won Rose Bowl, and had some phenomenal players that
I got a chance to play with, and uh a
phenomenal experience as well.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah yeah, Well, thank you for sharing your backstory and
the experiences that you have. And I want to just
kind of you know, tee off on your experience as
a as a former football player and and just knowing
how incredibly physical that sport is and injuries are just
part of the reality. And during your career and even
moving forward as you started, you know, mentoring and guiding

(05:42):
you know, athletes, what did the culture look like dealing
with injuries and getting back on the field. And did
cannabis in your early career have any you know, was
it prevalent then and what are you seeing now?

Speaker 3 (05:59):
So I did little bit of research.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
As you know, I speak everywhere now and I've been
to more than seventy countries around the globe. So everyone's
laws are different. So even the era in which I played,
which I was at Southern Cal you know, in the
mid eighties, and then at that time, you know, there
was no no room for era.

Speaker 3 (06:25):
And what I mean by that they would do drug testing.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
And when they did drug testing, it was very very strict,
and as a college player you could be ruled in eligible.
As a professional player you could be suspended. And so
the culture at that time was just hands off.

Speaker 3 (06:44):
No. I mean, you could lose your entire career.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
You've been lifting, training and running everything you could do
to get to the point that you are, and then
you're gonna lose it just because of you know, a
small amount of marijuana or drugs. We had players on
the team that were using as the drugs. You know,
cocaine was prevalent at that time, but I grew up
in the middle of the crack cocaine era, and then

(07:06):
you had guys who you know, were using marijuana cannabis
at the time. But now the NCAA doesn't even they
don't even count cannabis as an illegal substance. Basically, they
they rule it as a they ruled it equal to alcohol,

(07:29):
and then they've changed the they've changed the testing limits.
And I'm going to get this right because I'm not
a scientific person on it, but I think it's one
hundred and fifty nanograms per milli leader. That is now
where it used to be like thirty five nanograms per
leader middle leader. And I'm sharing that just because so

(07:52):
players now, as I speak to college teams all over
the nation, players now are free to use it in
whatever ways they want. Now, the university that they go
to can have certain, you know, restrictions, but as far
as the NC DOUBLEA, they don't test like they used to.
So in our culture it was just a hands off no,

(08:14):
But there were players that did it. And we have
players that got suspended, and we have players that led
from one thing to another to another. We have players
that got you know, smoked out on the crack cocaine
and all these other things.

Speaker 3 (08:25):
And so it was just a whole different era at
the time.

Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, so back then when someone got injured and you know,
I just want to build a little bit on THEAA
the NC DOUBLEA athletic research review from twenty twenty five
where they said that the athletes found cannabis was a
better alternative for pain management. Right, So that builds on
what you mentioned earlier about you know, it's you know,

(08:51):
in some regards, it's okay to a certain degree. So
back in the day, though, when someone got injured and
had to recover, what.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
Do they do medical?

Speaker 2 (09:03):
I mean, they had all kinds of shots. H you know,
there were steroids, shots, there were these pain shots.

Speaker 3 (09:08):
There were all kinds of things.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
And I think, just for me personally, and after seeing,
you know, the pain that my mother went through and
dealing with her cancer treatment, and then also knowing how
the pharmaceutical industry works, you know, I don't think that
the treatments that they were doing were the most beneficial
for our health. I don't think the treatments that my

(09:32):
mother got were the most beneficial for health. But at
that time, you know, there were you know, whether it
was an oral drug, whether it was a shot, it
was there were all kinds of things that they would
do to try to get you on the field. And
and so I think, you know, and I'm not I'm
not a cannabis user per se or a person who

(09:54):
uses it in my treatment now because I don't play
football anymore.

Speaker 3 (09:57):
But I know players who do.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
And I know some player who said, hey, you know,
I've had so many concussions, it's the only thing that actually,
you know, eases my pain or you know, my levels
in which you know, I can deal with dealing doing
my business. So I see how players have used it
as an alternative for whatever they need, you know, to function.
But at that time, obviously it was a you know,

(10:20):
it was a it was a no.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
It was a strict no.

Speaker 2 (10:24):
And I don't think the things that they were using
at the time were the most beneficial as well.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:29):
So last year, building on that, Travis Kelsey said that
many NFL players are using cannabis and even described how
some of them work around drug testing policies. So it
sounds like a lot has changed in the culture from
when it was during your playing days.

Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yeah, I think the NFL now and the way they tested,
they only tested like.

Speaker 3 (10:49):
Before you would be suspended.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
Now, the way the NFL test is, I think they
test the first two weeks of training camp, and then
if you test positive, it has to be a high
much higher level, like you just used it recently, either
that day or to day before and yeah uh and
if you.

Speaker 3 (11:10):
Test positive, there's no suspension, it's just.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
A fine ye. And then the NBA doesn't test at all. Yeah,
the only the only sport that tests. I think, still
pretty strict in and testing is track and field because
of the World Athletic Drug Association, so so NFL players.
You know, It's funny because I'm around a lot of
young guys and they just it's it's a whole different mindset,
a whole different era.

Speaker 3 (11:32):
And I think the thing about it is that it
is that the.

Speaker 2 (11:38):
Ah the only thing about the culture of it is
that it does lead to like this free will mindset
that I can just do what I want when I want,
which is not always the case. You know, we already
know the story of the young basketball girl that got
arrested in Russia, Brittany Griner.

Speaker 3 (11:57):
Just for a small amount of cannabis.

Speaker 2 (12:01):
And I've been you know, I've been in seventy countries,
and I know just some of the laws. If you go,
you know, to Thailand or Singapore or different places like that,
there's like, I mean, you could be arrested.

Speaker 3 (12:10):
For years for just different things.

Speaker 2 (12:12):
So I think young American athletes now, because of some
of the leniency in the testing or drug use policies
in their sport, just feel like I can do whatever
I want when I want, which is not the best
mindset I think, just personally.

Speaker 1 (12:28):
So yeah, yeah, and I actually you know, that brings
a really good pivot here because earlier we were talking about,
you know, people using medical cannabis for pain management things
like that, injuries as a player. But then also now
are athletes, you know, at the highest level, they face

(12:49):
enormous pressures, you know, performance expectations, to the injuries, and
then just to career uncertainty. So from your perspective, how
do players cope with that pressure? Do they turn to
cannabis as a way to cope?

Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yeah, I think, you know, some do, I think, I
think again, So this is what I've seen. I know
some players, like I said, did use cannabis for medical reasons,
you know, And obviously we know there's cannabis cream, there's
cannabis without the THC that you can you can use,
and there's obviously I believe God designed every you know,

(13:32):
all types of things in nature to heal our bodies.
So basically, uh, you know, my wife has her father
before he passed, I think he was about he was
about ninety eight, ninety seven, and she used some cannabis
cream on his on his legs, you know, his pain
went away.

Speaker 3 (13:47):
So I understand all of that aspect.

Speaker 2 (13:49):
But I think now some of the young guys, they'll
use they may be using it as a medical means
or a means to deal with all of the injuries
that come with the sport. But then you know, yeah, again,
as I said, you have this free, real mind mindset
where guys just want to get high.

Speaker 3 (14:05):
And uh, and they're not free.

Speaker 2 (14:06):
They're free to do it and still play their sport,
which during our era was not the case.

Speaker 3 (14:12):
And if the cost was too much, there's a little saying.

Speaker 2 (14:15):
It goes like this, there's a high cost for low
living in the sense that it would cost you everything
just to use a little bit of cannabis.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
So it was just a no.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
And so I think now, you know, with the times
have changed, obviously the laws have changed, it just makes it,
you know, freer in terms of mindset. Players are freer
just to use it, you know, to deal with my stress,
deal with my pain, deal with whatever it may be.
And it's it's just a thing that's that's common in
our in our society now.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
Yeah, So let's shift a little bit to your speaking
engagements and your mentorships with young athletes and what kind
of conversations do you have with them about substance use.
Decision making and their long term health.

Speaker 2 (14:59):
So I think with young players especially, you know, I
speak in a lot of high schools, I speak colleges,
and I do some corporate speaking as well. But here's
the thing, especially with young high school uh players, a
lot of them are into this vape vaping so and
the thing is is they don't understand like how all
that works. So ah, So they may be into vaping,

(15:25):
but they don't understand the dangers of.

Speaker 3 (15:29):
The vaping. And what I mean by that.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
Is, uh, there's a really I don't know, say detrimental story.

Speaker 3 (15:36):
It's just this very sad story because the kid was
very close to me.

Speaker 2 (15:40):
You know, they are everybody's vaping, but his the vape
was laced with fitnoel, which is obviously a synthetic opioid.
And then the kid, you know those in the cardiac arrest.
The kid was a phenomenal athlete, and after the cardiac arrest,
you know, the kid had a stroke and then the
stroke led to the alleviation of all of his athletics and.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
Ability, And it.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
Kind of led to that because of a lot of
peer pressure and different things like that. So I think
my encouragement to them is just to be wise, to
be a leader, to make right choices. We always say
we make right choices when we listen to right voices. Yeah,
we make wrong choices when we listen to wrong voices.
So I think, you know, even if a young person

(16:24):
is using cannabis or you know, even an athlete, you
got to really watch the source of it and where
it's coming from, you know, to make sure it's a
pure source, that is, you know, for whatever medical reason
or injury or whatever you're using it for. But you know,
kids now, they just pass the vape and everybody's just
taking the hit of the vape or whatever it may be,

(16:45):
or the edible and they just don't even know what
they're taking. And so I've seen kids go into a
lot of a lot of pain, a lot of issues.
And I've seen some athletes who because of the vape,
you know, have lung issues and all kinds of issues
and can't play anymore. So it's it's kind of a
sad situation, I think.

Speaker 1 (17:05):
Now, Yeah, well, I'm glad you brought that up because
Mary has just launched a public education initiative to talk
about the dangers and harmful effects of effects of vaping.
Specifically amongst young people. So thank you for sharing that story.
So let's talk about young athletes who dream of making
it to.

Speaker 3 (17:23):
The pros one day, right, And.

Speaker 1 (17:25):
And you talked about about it a little bit about
how taking you know, illegal substances, you know, vaping using
in Florida, recreational cannabis is illegal, whereas if you have
a qualifying condition, you can get legal medical cannabis under
the direction of a physician, a qualified physician. So for

(17:48):
those that are listening and you know they want to
go pro one day, what is what?

Speaker 3 (17:55):
How? What?

Speaker 2 (17:56):
How?

Speaker 1 (17:56):
What should do they? What should they be doing to
take care of their body and to make right decisions
along the way. And I know you've done a lot
of public speaking in high school, so I know you
got some tips that you can share with young people yea, yeah,
who are listening who may want to go pro like
you did.

Speaker 3 (18:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
So you know, obviously I wasn't like a big time
player because there's some players, and anybody who plays knows
there are some players who are just genetically gifted.

Speaker 3 (18:23):
Oh I watched a combine, I see it. Yeah, just gifted.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
I mean, this guy is just as big as can be,
you know, runs like a gazelle. You know, it can
change directions like you've never seen and it's just amazing.
And then you have a whole group of players who
are all good. Everybody's good. But then they're the little
things that will help you along the way. So attitude,

(18:49):
you know, so like you know, and just determination and
work ethic and then also friends. A little saying is
show me your friends and I'll show you your future.
So I mentioned me growing up, you know, there are
a lot of as we know of the gangs in
Los Angeles are pretty well known around the United States.
You know, a lot of bloods, a lot of crips,

(19:11):
and and so you.

Speaker 3 (19:13):
Know, I had family members involved.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
In these gangs and then they were all in my neighborhood.

Speaker 3 (19:17):
But I wanted to play so bad.

Speaker 2 (19:20):
I was so focused on playing that no matter what
was happening around me, it was trying to It's almost
like a vacuum suck you in. But I always say,
you know, your dream has to be something that you're
pushing forward becoming. So you got to hang with dream
makers instead of dream breakers. It's a little it's a
little saying that I have for them. And then always

(19:42):
say that you know, we're not born winners, We're not
born losers. Were born choosers. And so when I when I,
when I choose you know to uh you know, stay
uh stay focused.

Speaker 3 (19:55):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
And again you know, all the things that alcohol can
do in terms of making wrong choice. It can just
get you off track, get you in trouble, things like that,
and the same you know with cannabis. I think, you know,
we've talked about different aspects of it, and like I
was sharing, I personally, you know, saw just the aspect
of it helping my mother and helping her pain and

(20:17):
helping different things like that. But then I've seen the
other aspects of it where you know, the abuse of it,
because you have abuse and abuse and the abuse of
it has you know, caused some young people just to
go astray because they're not they're not wise in their
choices and how they're you know, using things that are

(20:38):
meant to heal our body and not you know, destroy future.
So I just think when young people are striving to
become great athletes and great people, you got to have
the drive, You got to have the focus, got to
have the work ethic and you and you and you
have to just stay focused. I think that's like one
of the biggest words that I give to young people
is just trying to stay focused and continue to make

(21:01):
some right choices.

Speaker 1 (21:02):
So yeah, yeah, and I guess that would apply when
you're a former athlete, right, like you reached the pinnacle
where you're at the top of your game, and you
know you have that natural high, right that's part of
being this elite athlete. And we're re seeing some stories
in the headlines where these elite athletes who are no
longer in sports, some of them, you know, based on

(21:26):
the news reports, they're returning, you know, they're using illicit
drugs to cope with that. What is you what are
you seeing in that regard?

Speaker 3 (21:35):
Yeah, I think well, as we already know, it's not like.

Speaker 2 (21:42):
It's not like all of a sudden, I was just
a great athlete and I was doing everything right. Now
I just moved to a listed drug. It's probably something
that they've been involved with for a long time. And
then what happens is when they finished playing, you know,
they just get more and more involved than guys become
care and their decisions and their choices. And then also

(22:02):
I think, you know, more than anything, I think it's
the it's the the vision and the purpose, you know,
for my life. So it was a mentor of mine.
He's passed away years back. He probably wrote more than
thirty or forty books. So there was doctor Edwin Lewis Cole.

(22:24):
But he had a saying that was just so powerful.
It went like this, he said. He said, winners are
very different than losers, and it has really nothing to
do with sports. He said, winners always look at what
they're going to and losers always look at what they're
going through and what I'm What he meant was very powerful.
So even when I'm finished with my sport now, okay,

(22:45):
I'm looking at what I'm going to. Okay, i want
to make an impact in our nation or our generation.
You know, I'm looking at what I'm going to. So
I'm gonna. You know, it keeps my emotions and my
energy and even that same thing that you just talked about,
you know, the adrenalin and all of the things that
I had when I was playing. It keeps me focused
on that wordas I can get caught at what I'm

(23:07):
going through now. I am going through some pain which
I have as well. I've had several of these surgeries.
You know, I'm going through some emotional issues where it
can be whether it's my relationship, my marriage, my children,
whatever it may be, you know, but I don't want
to get caught in the illicit drugs that can just
totally destroy my life.

Speaker 3 (23:25):
I want to look at what I'm going too and
not what I'm going through.

Speaker 2 (23:28):
So I just want to make choices that keep me
in the right direction, you know, whether it's mentally, physically, emotionally, medically.
I want to make those choices and be moving in
that direction.

Speaker 3 (23:39):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (23:40):
Well that was an amazing way for us to close
this conversation on cannabis and Keith. I want to thank
you so much for being our guests on this forum today,
brought to you by the Medical Marijuana Education and Research
Initiative at Florida and M University. Thank you to everyone
watching this program. Tell us what you think about this
form by completing the survey posted in the comment boxes

(24:02):
on Mary's Facebook and YouTube pages. If you complete the survey,
your name will be entered into a drawing in April
twenty twenty six to win a one hundred dollars gift
card provided by one of Mary's partners, Stay connected with
Fam you Mary to access educational information and resources about
legal medical marijuana use and the consequences of illegal marijuana

(24:23):
use in Florida. You can follow them on social media
or visit the Fam you Mary website. We also want
to encourage you to go to the Florida Department of
Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use website to learn how
to obtain a legal medical marijuana card in the state
of Florida. Thanks everyone. The views and opinions of our

(24:45):
invited guest are not necessarily the views and opinions of
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University or the Medical Marijuana Education
and Research Initiative.