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Goodell: NFL won't change stance on recreational use of 'addictive' marijuana

Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports

While marijuana use continues to be one of the most prominent topics of discussion around the league, Roger Goodell says he doesn't back the idea of taking it off the list of banned substances for recreational use.

Goodell believes marijuana is unhealthy and addictive, though the commissioner is open to the possibility of allowing it to be used by players for medical reasons.

"I think you still have to look at a lot of aspects of marijuana use," Goodell said Friday on "Mike and Mike," according to Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith. "Is it something that can be negative to the health of our players? Listen, you're ingesting smoke, so that's not usually a very positive thing that people would say. It does have (an) addictive nature. There are a lot of compounds in marijuana that may not be healthy for the players long term. All of those things have to be considered. And it's not as simple as someone just wants to feel better after a game. We really want to help our players in that circumstance, but I want to make sure that the negative consequences aren't something that is something that we'll be held accountable for some years down the road."

The NFL Players Association has been vocal in its desire to change the league's policies on marijuana, especially when it comes to efforts to identify the root causes of why players are using it.

Related - NFLPA to propose 'less punitive' approach to marijuana use

The NFLPA is expected to propose new measures to the NFL soon, while Goodell said the league will defer to the opinions of medical professionals, who, to this date, haven't advised altering the stance on marijuana.

"We look at it from a medical standpoint," he said. "So if people feel that it has a medical benefit, the medical advisers have to tell you that. We have joint advisers, we also have independent advisers, both the NFLPA and the NFL, and we'll sit down and talk about that. But we've been studying that through our advisers. To date, they haven't said this is a change we think you should make that's in the best interests of the health and safety of our players. If they do, we're certainly going to consider that. But to date, they haven't really said that."

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