Federal drug agents launch surprise inspections of NFL teams following games

The National Football League is under suspicion and is being investigated !!

Big violations possible.

What will this do to the game and the fan base?

What will advertisers do?

Is there a "new" agenda in play?

Federal drug agents conducted surprise inspections of National Football League team medical staffs on Sunday as part of an ongoing investigation into prescription drug abuse in the league. The inspections, which entailed bag searches and questioning of team doctors by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, were based on the suspicion that NFL teams dispense drugs illegally to keep players on the field in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, according to a senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation.


Federal drug agents launch surprise inspections of NFL teams following games

Maybe people will say how it's unfair because they're sports stars and drugs aren't a big deal and eventually it will be more support for legalization of weed and eventually other substances.

Of course it will be controlled, taxed and messed with till all benefits are negated.

S + F

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

There is a huge difference between weed and prescription drugs... Weed has nothing to do with pills.

Grandstanding. We don't need the DEA to tell us that NFL players are all on drugs. Look at them.

They're just trying to look like they care. Like they're "doing something about it"...

...when in fact it would come as no surprise to me whatsoever if it were discovered that the DEA is somehow involved in the PED black market in the first place. Or whatever else they were looking for.

originally posted by: snypwsd
a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

There is a huge difference between weed and prescription drugs... Weed has nothing to do with pills.

On a certain level I see no difference.

Many people believe that you should be free to use marry j wanna in your own home and as long as you are not hurting anyone else and it shouldn't be considered a crime.

Why can't I be allowed to take Vicoden as long as I am not hurting anyone else? Why should that be a crime?

The only difference is some drugs are regulated by the pharmaceutical companies and some are grown at home or bought on the street.

I would think a drug made by a major medical supplier is safer than something I bought from a dealer who made it at his house.......

While pain pill abuse is a problem, I strongly believe the DEA is incompetent to deal with it. They are cops, not medical professionals.

They shut down a few pill mills in Florida where the doctors were blatantly profiting off prescribing narcotics, they also enacted a plethora of guidelines for doctors to follow that many will tell you do no good and are in complete violation of HIPPA and the doctor patient relationship.

It is a case of LEOs and legislatures making the rules for medical doctors out of haste and the perception the have to do something that looks good for PR purposes. This maybe the same thing the DEA is trying to do with the NFL.

If they try to prevent NFL players from playing while on Rx pain meds, there will be some major fallout. They do not realize the NFL has more money and power than they do.

So, like, we're ok with this? How about surprise raids at your house to make sure you're not doing anything bad? Cool?

a reply to: mwood

You do know you don't "make" marijuana, right?

It grows from soil.. Kinda like your, err.. FOOD!

C'mon man.

a reply to: rockintitz

yep, I'm a Bible follower.....not only does God give us all green plants in the very first chapter of the Bible,

but in Ezekiel 20, He states that He will raise up for us a plant of renown......I wonder.....tis a leaf most likely

a reply to: xuenchen

DEA spokesman Rusty Payne confirmed the existence of the investigation and said it was triggered by a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in May by more than 1,300 retired NFL players.

In the suit, they allege that NFL medical staffs regularly violate federal and state laws in plying their teams with powerful addictive narcotics such as Percocet and Percodan, sleeping pills such as Ambien and the non-addictive painkiller Toradol to help them play through injuries on game days.

Ah, I was wondering what sparked this...

Not surprised really
Both the coaches and players will do whatever it take to win, regardless of the sport

Of course, once they retire, well then.........that's when you hear about incidents like this

originally posted by: Mr Headshot
So, like, we're ok with this?

How about surprise raids at your house to make sure you're not doing anything bad? Cool?

"Coming soon to a neighborhood near you"

Seriously, I wouldn't put it past them one day in the near future to do just that

The DEA started coming after the NFL many months ago. As much as I love football, there are some HUGE problems with the way the NFL is run. For instance, one thing I truly hate is the way the NFL has built a merchandising business around pink merchandise for breast cancer awareness, when they give less than 10% of all money they bring in to the cause itself, while profiting who knows how much. Another thing I hate about the NFL is the fact that players are heavily punished for minor infractions, while the players who get embroiled in major scandals get a slap on the wrist. Apparently marijuana use is worse than punching your wife in the face, as an example.

Anyway, the reason the DEA is doing this is because a lawsuit was filed by over 1000 former NFL players, many of whom left the NFL addicted to pain killers, because they were fed to them like candy, without the slightest warnings that they would get addicted or harm their bodies. Instead of allowing players time to heal and getting the proper medical attention, they pump them full of narcotic painkillers. Some of the claims in the lawsuits involve players playing numerous games with broken bones, as the painkillers allowed them not to feel the pain. Many of these claims are from the 80's and 90's, and I imagine the practices were worse then, but there are still more recent claims. It was also said that players were allowed to simply take what narcotics they wanted out of the club's medicine cabinets. I couldn't imagine that they are legally allowed to have narcotics on hand, and that is most likely illegal. But it does not seem that they were being prescribed to them, and in fact there seemed to be no accountability whatsoever.

So the DEA got wind of this after the lawsuit was filed. And another thing about the NFL is the fact that they attempt to sweep everything under the rug. They are making billions of dollars each year, yet they are quite stingy when it comes to helping the former players that made the league what it is today. So many players in the NFL last only a couple of years, usually due to injuries, and despite the fact that football is the cause of their injuries, they do not get the medical help they should. It is bad for cheerleaders as well.

I think the thing that makes me dislike the NFL more than anything else is what they did when scientists were studying how the many hits sustained in playing football led to long-term health problems. Especially concussions. They literally got scientists to publish studies saying how taking massive hits to the head on a repeated basis was not bad for you, essentially, which anyone could tell you is a load of crap. So anyway, the NFL's practices turned many players into drug addicts, and then they were abandoned. Many of these players had no idea of the risk they were running where addiction was concerned. Some might criticize these players for essentially taking all these pills without question, but you have to realize the atmosphere. Top athletes want to play, and when a doctor tells you to do something and that you will be fine, you usually listen. In fact, most people would berate those who didn't listen to the doctors. Oh, and another thing I hate about the NFL...the blackout rule. The NFL essentially says this: if we don't sell enough tickets in a certain region, we will black out the game for that region. In a way it is extortion. So if people decided they didn't want to spend $500 to take their family to a football game, and instead wanted to watch it at home, they wouldn't be able to watch it. There are just so many ways the NFL screws people, and I think it is high time that they get in trouble for some of the bad things they've done and the way they do business in general. Unfortunately however, the NFL has good lawyers, and they will try to say that the drug problems were essentially team or club problems, not an NFL problem. So they will try to blame the individual clubs, and will probably get away with it.

There was a '60 Minutes Sports' episode not too long ago that quotes former NFL players as saying at least half of the players use marijuana as pain medicine in the few days following a game. But that's not the point of this thread.

A crackdown on NFL players using prescription medicine may put the spotlight on what's wrong with prescription medicine. Monkey see, monkey do, monkey take the ball and run up the middle and self-medicate.

originally posted by: GBP/JPY
a reply to: rockintitz

yep, I'm a Bible follower.....not only does God give us all green plants in the very first chapter of the Bible,

but in Ezekiel 20, He states that He will raise up for us a plant of renown......I wonder.....tis a leaf most likely

Couldn't find that passage in Ezekiel 20 (which seems to be a chapter from when god was in his crazy control-freak punishing mood - time of the month?), did you get the citation right? Thanks.

a reply to: Aleister

It's actually Ezekiel 34:29 that the poster was referring to, not Ezekiel 20.

originally posted by: Jakal26
a reply to: Aleister

It's actually Ezekiel 34:29 that the poster was referring to, not Ezekiel 20.

Thanks. Could be a metaphor for lots of plants. I'd say rice is a plant of renown in my life. One of many.

Saw on TV they said no arrests have been made as this raid was done without warrants.

So basically they did this to warn the teams that searches are coming and they had better hide their drugs better.... well done.

What irks me is how easily pain meds were available to the NFL yet regular people suffering from pain must jump through hoops and beg to get any relief. Even if they get help the DEA is such a pain in the ass to the drs that the slightest reason to drop you from their care they will do it.
It's just one more instance of the class system in the US where the rich and famous get what they want and the rest of you fight for the scraps left behind. I really don't care what happens to the NFL as I hate professional sports. They are a poor role model for any kid to idolize once you knew what really goes on.

originally posted by: Asktheanimals
What irks me is how easily pain meds were available to the NFL yet regular people suffering from pain must jump through hoops and beg to get any relief. Even if they get help the DEA is such a pain in the ass to the drs that the slightest reason to drop you from their care they will do it.
.

it sucks man...the laws just changed again too....i had an industrial accident...im on pain meds and its well, a pain just dealing with it...
these nfl players, musicians, movie stars...they do not have the same issues as people like me have cause they have money.....nfl players probably need to make sure they have a script in case they get popped for a test but when your making that kind of money its not hard to get a script...

movie stars/tv stars...you know..matthew perry making a mill per episode was addicted to vicodin for years...its well known....im sure all he had to do was call the consigliere and have a bottle of vicodin delivered to the trailer...

they dont have to play by the same rules

michael jackson would be another example of what iam talking about..
he had his own personal doc...the doc was loading him up with heavy duty #.....so he could sleep???
im lucky to get ambien...

if youre getting it done, no matter if it is bringing the laughs on a hit show or making the sacks...you dont have the same rules as you and i do....thats a fact

i just googled sports star addicts...check this out

www.therichest.com...

i will copy a few snippets...this should prove they dont play by the same rules as us....money talks

darryl strawberry

ure, his love of coc aine and penchant for domestic abuse didn’t enhance his professional career. Sure, his fluid Williamsian swing would have served him better if he were more focused on baseball. Nevertheless, Strawberry managed to have a pretty impressive tenure in Major League Baseball despite his drug addiction.

During his career, the Straw was suspended for drug use three times. He spent 28 days at the Betty Ford clinic after failing to show up for a Dodgers exhibition game in 1994
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nate newton

Nate Newton’s foray into the drug world involved not only using marijuana but selling the devil’s weed. The Pro Bowl offensive lineman said, “I’ve always been competitive…I couldn’t see myself not being the biggest dope man.”

In 2001, Newton and two women were pulled over for a traffic violation. After a search of the car, it was discovered that Newton was in possession of 213 pounds of marijuana. While on bond for that offense, Newton was again pulled over and found to be carrying massive quantities of the stuff.

The former Dallas Cowboy served 2 1/2 years in a Louisiana prison for marijuana possession
what do you think would happen to one of us if we wanted to be the biggest dope man and were busted with 213 pounds of grass
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josh hamilton

The saga of Josh Hamilton, now, is one of redemption, as the career .295 hitter recently inked a five-year, $125 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

A 2001 car accident derailed Hamilton’s minor league career and his life as the former first-overall draft pick spiraled into drug addiction, ending up in rehab eight times. The star prospect once pawned his wife’s wedding ring for coc aine and blew $100,000 on crack in little more than a month.
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^^^^8 times in rehab..spending 100k on crack and still getting to sign a 125 million dollar deal???

what do you think would happen to us?

i will tell you...
if we got busted with 200 lbs of grass or thousands of dollars worth of crack we would be in jail for years..then we would be on probation for years...we would be felons so our job prospects would suck...we couldnt vote anymore...we couldnt own a firearm...

so yeah, its different for them