February 18, 2020 Litigation / NFL / Rights

Ex-NFL Player Tries to Take Marijuana De-Scheduling Lawsuit to U.S. Supreme Court

Ex-NFL player Marvin Washington and a group of medical marijuana patients told the Second Circuit that they will attempt to get their marijuana de-scheduling lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) into the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2017, the patients sued the DEA, arguing that marijuana was improperly classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. Schedule I drugs, which include heroin and LSD, are treated by the DEA as having a high potential for abuse and no clinical value. The patients alleged that the DEA’s …

January 14, 2020 Litigation / NFL / Rights

Second Circuit Throws Ex-NFL Player’s Marijuana De-Scheduling Lawsuit into Peril

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals told ex-NFL player Marvin Washington and other medical marijuana patients that it would not give them more time to ask the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to de-schedule marijuana.

In 2017, Washington and a group of cannabis patients sued then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, seeking marijuana legalization at the federal level. While numerous states have legalized both medical and recreational marijuana, it is still illegal under federal law, where it is classified as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin and LSD. …

March 22, 2017 Litigation / NFL

Ex-NFL Players Argue NFL in Violation of the Controlled Substances Act: Forcing Players to Play While Injured and Hopped up on Painkillers

Retired NFL Players claiming that their teams pushed them to abuse painkillers recently filed an amended complaint alleging that doctors and trainers supplied narcotics and painkillers in order to keep the players on the field — even though “[p]layers [we]re not informed of the long-term health effects of taking controlled substances and prescription medications in the amounts given to them.” The complaint further claims that teams “maintain the return to play practice or policy by ensuring that players are not told of the health …

November 18, 2014 Litigation / NFL

DEA’s Surprise NFL Inspections for Painkiller Misuse

On Sunday, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration conducted surprise inspections of various NFL teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawk, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The inspections were sparked by allegations asserted in a class-action lawsuit filed in May 2014 by several of the high-profile named players like Richard Dent, Keith Van Horne, and Jim McMahon.

The lawsuit alleged that team doctors and trainers routinely distributed addictive narcotics such as Percocet and Percodan and sleeping pills such as Ambien to players in …

August 5, 2014 Doping / MLB

A-Rod’s PED Supplier Surrendered to DEA

The master mind in the Biogenesis scandal surrendered to DEA on Tuesday, tentatively closing a chapter of the two-year Operation Strikeout investigation. Anthony Bosch, the founder of Biogenesis clinic, and his associates have been charged with conspiracy to distribute steroids. The doping scandal marred some of Major League Baseball’s famous names like Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon. Close to 20 players have been suspended by MLB for having tested positive or for their usage of steroids revealed in clinic …