Ex-Bears QB Jim McMahon: Medical Marijuana Got Me Off Pain Pills

The ex-Chicago Bears quarterback spoke out about using medical marijuana this week during a team reunion celebrating their Super Bowl win 30 years ago, the Chicago Tribune reports. He has been diagnosed with early onset dementia and frequently experiences severe headaches, depression, memory loss, and vision and speech problems.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is now reviewing weather or not to expand use of medical marijuana in his state. “With my chronic pain, all my surgeries I’ve had”.

Mostly due to numerous injuries, he started 10 games just five times, including 11 for the ’85 Bears, who beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. He also said he suffered a broken neck.

McMahon is among a group of former NFL players who have filed a class-action suit against the league for mishandling concussions. However, his focus lately has been on the state of IL, where he is advocating for chronic pain to be added to the list of acceptable conditions for medical marijuana patients.

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon was never shy about hiding his hard-partying lifestyle, but nowadays his drug usage is of a non-recreational variety.

His pot is medical marijuana, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.

Despite Jim McMahon’s statement, Chicago Tribune noted that many institutions still do not see marijuana as a go-to treatment for pain management.

He prefers the indica strain for its higher content of THC, the part of the plant that gets users high. But Illinois, which has perhaps the most strict law allowing medical marijuana in the nation, does not allow it for pain, as lawmakers have expressed concerns that the category is be too broad and vague and would allow for abuse.