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Former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon is best known for his Super Bowl exploits with the Chicago Bears in 1985. However, he also played for the Arizona Cardinals in the 1994 season and has lived in Scottsdale for more than a decade. He’s a guy from Arizona now.
McMahon is the subject of an upcoming documentary, Mad Mac, due for release later this year. It’s a look at both his career and the chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the brain injury that haunts many former soccer players. There also comes a time when the NFL is rethinking its guidelines regarding the substances players may use to manage pain. (Players can currently be fined and suspended for positive marijuana tests.) A new league committee is researching and conducting studies to enable players to use alternatives to opioids, including CBD and other cannabis products.
McMahon has done some press coverage lately, including an interview with the AP’s Pro Football Podcast where he talked at length about his pain reliever addiction, pain management, marijuana use, and why he moved to Arizona after retiring. Here are some of the highlights.
On NFL drug testing, “I’ve used [marijuana] throughout my career. I never failed a drug test. We always knew when our test would be. It was when you got to training camp. … We would stop giving each other 45 days to clean up on June 1st and we would be clean for our tests. And after that, the rules were that the only thing they could beat you up for was steroids. … I’ve been using it since 1973. Now that I know it’s great for me, I keep going. “
On his addiction to pain medication: “I ate at least 100 percs [Percocets] a month just to work. As a player and for at least 5 years thereafter. The last time I took pain relievers was in the early 2000s. “
When I got his Arizona card, “When I moved here to Arizona, I got my medical marijuana license. I’ve been using it exclusively ever since, and my body feels a hell of a lot better. It’s a medicinal herb. We are.” shall use it. My mind is much clearer. It worked miracles for me. “
On the NFL’s pot policy, “If a man goes home at night and can’t sleep at night, why can’t he just relax and drink some cannabis and sleep?”
About Arizona in general: “When I played for Arizona in 1994, I said, ‘I’ll move here when I retire.’ And here I am now. Moved here about 11 years ago. Dry heat feels good on the body. I don’t make moisture good, I don’t make cold good, so this was a good place. ”
Listen to the full interview here.
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David Hudnall is the editor-in-chief of the Phoenix New Times. He was previously the editor of The Pitch in Kansas City.
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