Mike Tyson’s fight against Roy Jones Jr was a great promotional success for the boxers and perhaps even more for the marijuana legalization movement. Not so much for journalism.
As USAToday reported it, “Mike Tyson said he smoked marijuana right before the fight… Absolutely, yes,” he said during his post-fight press conference.
After the bout, Tyson indicated he smoked another joint, apparently before he met with the media…
“Listen, I can’t stop smoking,” he said. “I smoked during fights. I just have to smoke, I’m sorry. I’m a smoker. … I smoke everyday. I never stopped smoking.”
Then USAToday added, “Tyson said he stopped using cocaine about 2 1/2 years ago, but that turns out not to be the case for marijuana — even inside the ring.”
SEE: The Uses Of CBD Topical For Treating Skin Ailments
Having created an equivalence between cannabis and cocaine, they dropped the subject.
It is unfortunate that they didn’t at least ask Tyson, who is now in the legal cannabis business, if he thinks it might protect his brain from trauma in the ring.
As the Chicago Tribune reported last year through its cannabis-related affiliate The Freshtoast,
“More than two million visits to the ER each year are related to TBI events like concussion, from auto accidents, falls and assaults. Falls account for 50 percent of TBI in children under 14 years old and more than 60 percent of seniors. It is the leading cause of disability and premature death in the world. The economic impact in the United States alone has been estimated at $75 billion a year. The impact on people’s lives cannot be measured in dollars.”
And nothing seems to help…. except cannabinoids.
The Freshtoast article was based on a publication in the Oxford University Press that
“CB1 and CB2 Cannabinoid Receptor Antagonists Prevent Minocycline-Induced Neuroprotection Following Traumatic Brain Injury in Mice.”
This study confirmed a previous report published in 2014 in the American Surgeon:
Effect of Marijuana Use on Outcomes in Traumatic Brain Injury
“It reported that a positive screening for THC was associated with decreased mortality in patients who experienced TBI. According to this study done by UCLA Medical Center researchers, individuals afflicted with TBI who also consume cannabis have a higher chance to live longer and lower chance to die than TBI patients who abstain.
In TheFreshToast article, Trey Reckling, concludes that “Research like this means it is not fantastic to predict a world where paramedics and even athletic trainers on the sidelines of contact sports have access to cannabinoids. If doctors one day agree that a single dose applied right after a concussion or more serious accident can have a profound effect, it is criminal to deny access.” Criminal indeed.
I have previously written about the need for the US military to stop banning cannabis and start using it to deal with numerous problems veterans and active duty military are having.
See The Drug War vs the US Military: CBD Might Help With Brain Damage but They Can’t Shampoo With It?
Unsurprisingly, Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are a major problem in the military but they have been ignoring the science demonstrating that CBD can help prevent or reduce permanent brain damage.
See Study finds medical marijuana improves concussion symptoms
It is clear that traumatic brain injury is a major problem, but it is unworthy of USAToday, even though they think we need to know about what Mike Tyson does before a bout. ‘Bout damn time!
- Richard Cowan is a former NORML National Director and author of A Beginner’s Guide To Topical CBD Products.
