{"id":5799,"date":"2016-04-03T10:17:17","date_gmt":"2016-04-03T10:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/?p=48614"},"modified":"2016-04-03T10:17:17","modified_gmt":"2016-04-03T10:17:17","slug":"play-ball-or-not-mlb-and-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/play-ball-or-not-mlb-and-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"Play Ball \u2026 or Not? MLB and Marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/play-ball-or-not-mlb-and-marijuana\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p>Being a big league ballplayer involves a fair amount of stress. While some players get tanked on alcohol to handle their 162 game schedule, others choke down fistfuls of prescription medications to deal with their job-related health issues,\u00a0leaving more than a few MLB players who prefer smoking some\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/strains\/\" target=\"_blank\">connoisseur grade cannabis<\/a>\u00a0as a means of dealing with their daily pain and anxiety.<\/p>\n<p>As MLB prepares to fire off the first pitch of the 2016 season this Sunday, pot-smoking players are hardly the biggest issue facing Major League Baseball today; think PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs), ethnic diversity in the front office, and underfunded franchises. Despite facing these very real issues, Major League Baseball would rather demonize a peaceful plant and potentially ruin the promising careers of talented young players\u00a0for simply <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/weedmaps.com\/what-medicals-are-you-smoking\" target=\"_blank\">getting high<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0The following five players represent just a few examples of the MLB seriously losing their sense of humor over the <a href=\"https:\/\/weedmaps.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">recreational\/ medicinal\u00a0use of marijuana<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants<\/strong>:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-48616\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-01-at-12.33.30-PM.png?a8203f\" alt=\"Screen Shot 2016-04-01 at 12.33.30 PM\" width=\"700\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-01-at-12.33.30-PM-300x193.png 300w, http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-01-at-12.33.30-PM.png 700w, http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-01-at-12.33.30-PM-300x193@2x.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/giants\/article\/A-season-begins-with-Lincecum-nowhere-in-sight-7221753.php#A%20season%20begins%20with%20Tim%20Lincecum%20nowhere%20in%20sight\">The Freak<\/a>,\u201d a.k.a. Tim Lincecum \u2013 currently M.I.A. from the San Francisco Giants \u2013 was cited in his home state of Washington on misdemeanor marijuana charges after a traffic stop went sideways in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong> Elijah Dukes \u2013 Retired Washington Nationals<\/strong>:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-48617\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-01-at-12.34.04-PM.png?a8203f\" alt=\"Screen Shot 2016-04-01 at 12.34.04 PM\" width=\"700\" height=\"518\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-01-at-12.34.04-PM-300x222.png 300w, http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-01-at-12.34.04-PM.png 700w, http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-01-at-12.34.04-PM-300x222@2x.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, being honest just works against you. First informing a reporter in February 2011, that while he played for the Washington Nationals, he used to fire up before home games. Dukes was later pulled over in 2012 and charged with marijuana possession and attempted <a href=\"http:\/\/nesn.com\/2012\/02\/elijah-dukes-arrested-again-on-marijuana-charges-police-say-he-also-tried-to-eat-bag-of-pot\/#Elijah Dukes Arrested Again on Marijuana Charges, Police Say He Also Tried to Eat Bag of Pot Read more at: http:\/\/nesn.com\/2012\/\">destruction of evidence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong> Jordan Schafer \u2013 Houston Astros<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-48619\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Jordan.jpg?a8203f\" alt=\"Jordan\" width=\"700\" height=\"422\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Jordan-300x181.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Jordan.jpg 700w, http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Jordan-300x181@2x.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t smoke and drive, particularly in Florida. During the 2011 season, a cop observed Astros outfielder Jordan Schafer as he smoked a joint at a traffic light.\u00a0The unnoticed police officer then arrested and charged Schaefer with <a href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/7058577\/jordan-schafer-houston-astros-arrested-florida-marijuana-charge#Jordan%20Schafer%20arrested%20on%20drug%20charge\">a felony<\/a> marijuana possession.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong> Jon Singleton \u2013 Houston Astros<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-48668\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Jon.png?a8203f\" alt=\"Jon\" width=\"700\" height=\"409\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Jon-300x175.png 300w, http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Jon.png 700w, http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Jon-300x175@2x.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Turning to alcohol, pills, and other more acceptable substances as a means of fighting off his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/mlb\/eye-on-baseball\/24467785\/astros-prospect-jonathan-singleton-opens-up-about-pot-addiction#Astros%20prospect%20Jonathan%20Singleton%20opens%20up%20about%20pot%20addiction\">self-described addiction<\/a>, Jon Singleton openly admitted that he \u201cenjoys smoking weed.\u201d After his 50 game suspension for failing two drug tests, the Astro\u2019s management first sent him to therapy, then down to AAA.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong> Alex Reyes \u2013 St. Louis Cardinals<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>(Photo to follow)<\/p>\n<p>Offering\u00a0further evidence that MLB\u2019s Reefer Madness remains alive and well in 2016, Reyes was <a href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/blog\/st-louis-cardinals\/post\/_\/id\/239\/mound-visit-getting-to-know-alex-reyes#Getting%20to%20know%20Alex%20Reyes\">suspended<\/a> by the St. Louis Cardinals and the league\u00a0for lighting up\u00a0something more than just his pitches.<\/p>\n<p>While ballplayers on major league teams enjoy slightly more progressive rules regarding marijuana and THC, minor-league players face stricter marijuana policies. According to the MLBPA\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/pa\/pdf\/jda.pdf\">Joint Drug Agreement<\/a>, players in the minor league can be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.com\/community\/forums\/urine-testing.113\/\" target=\"_blank\">randomly tested<\/a>, regardless of whether or not it&#8217;s the off-season.<\/p>\n<p>With all of that said, those players that haven&#8217;t failed their annual drug test for PED&#8217;s or THC \u2026 <strong><em>Play ball!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(Photo courtesy of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fanduel.com\/insider\/2016\/03\/22\/are-the-colorado-rockies-going-to-sell-marijuana-brownies-at-concessions-stands\/\" target=\"_blank\">fanduel.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Being a big league ballplayer involves a fair amount of stress. While some players get tanked on alcohol to handle their 162 game schedule, others choke down fistfuls of prescription medications to deal with their job-related health issues,\u00a0leaving more than a few MLB players who prefer smoking some\u00a0connoisseur grade cannabis\u00a0as a means of dealing with [&#8230;] <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5415,5416,2435,5417,5418,9,1197,2418,5419,5113,1,3,1686],"tags":[5420,5421,2436,5422,5423,3767,2420,5424,5114,4254],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5799\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}