More athletes than ever before are voicing their opinion on legalization. Former Colorado State running back Treyous Jarrells is carrying that over as he told The Coloradoan this week, to focus on his health and pursue a career in medical marijuana.
“I’ve seen people before me, my brothers, who got kicked out of school for marijuana,” Jarrells told The Coloradoan. "I’m thinking, ‘I can’t do it any more with the pain. I can’t take it. I have to get my body right.’ I knew if I stepped back from the game, they wouldn’t drug test me, but I could still get my degree.”
This was in September 2015 ,and his coach understood the situation and allowed Jarrells to leave the team while remaining on scholarship through the end of the academic year. He explains that he chose Colorado State because of its legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes, and because and the 16 years of playing football since his youth caused him a lot of bodily pain. He explains that he was never tested once while at Colorado State and played in almost all games in both seasons combined under the influence.
“I practiced under the influence. I played games under the influence. This is my medicine,” Jarrells told The Coloradoan. “I’ve seen players at CSU pop five, 10 ibuprofens before practice. Daily. You think that’s good? Over the course of two, three years, that’s eating your liver away.”
Jarrells was the team’s second-leading rusher in 2014 and could have easily been the starter in the upcoming season. Now the running back is is taking on a new role in the field of cannabis, explaining he has one of the 102,620 medical marijuana licenses to legally grow plants in Colorado. His current living situation has slightly changed and (his apartment has turned into a makeshift greenhouse) and he says finishing his education helped his new career choice.
“These two semesters I wasn’t able to play ball, I was able to make connections for my career,” Jarrells said.
“If I would have played ball, I wouldn’t have had those opportunities because I wouldn’t have been in the places to make those connections. Right now, a lot of players who didn’t get into the league, they’re lost right now because they didn’t make connections. … That’s the thing, you’re not a student, you’re an athlete.”
