Chief Cannabis Correspondent Ryan Nerz interviews Dr. Lester Grinspoon, a Professor Emeritus at Harvard University and the author of Marihuana Reconsidered. Grinspoon has written an open letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, advising him to consider allowing cannabis as a treatment for post-concussion syndrome.

Professor Grinspoon claims that CBD-heavy strains of marijuana serve as a powerful neuroprotectant, effectively helping the brain heal from concussions.

“The NFL should pay some attention to the fact that we are now pretty confident that cannabis, marijuana, has as a medicine, some qualities about it which make it clear that it is neuro-protective,” said Prof. Grinspoon. “We are talking about a particular formulation of the cannbanoids, that is a formulation which is largely made of CBD, and to a much lesser extent THC, and of course along with it other phytochemicals, like terpenoids, that come from the marijuana bud. And these three, these three components, work in an ensemble effect. There is no psychoactive effect. Anybody who takes this combination of high CBD and low THC, will if he tries to use it as a psychoactive drug, will be disappointed. He can’t get high on it.”

In the future, Grinspoon believes, many people will take the same non-intoxicating cannabis pill that he himself takes every night…as an antioxidant and neuroprotectant.

Credit: Ryan Nerz, Omar Michaud, Sebastian Perry and Jesse Swinger