A former member of Gang Green who's preached the healing power of pot is taking Jeff Sessions and the DEA to court over marijuana's classification at a Schedule I drug. And folks, when I say Gang Green, I'm talking a former player on the Jets, not someone on the High Times NYC Media Softball League.
Marvin Washington, a former defensive end with the Jets and a Super Bowl winner with the Broncos in 1999, is one of five people suing Jeff Sessions, the DEA and the DOJ in Manhattan federal court over what they say is marijuana's unconstitutional designation as a Schedule I drug, the NY Post reports.
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classifies pot in the same areas as drugs like heroin, Ibogaine, and MDMA. As a Schedule I drug, the federal government claims that these substances have "a high potential for abuse," "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" and a "lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision."
According to Washington and company's suit, marijuana's classification as a Schedule I drug "is so irrational that it violates the U.S. Constitution." Washington himself joined the suit because Controlled Substances Act doesn't allow him to get a federal grant to open a business that would provide medical marijuana to football players instead of traditional opiate-based painkillers.
Washington has been an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana since he retired, arguing that it would help football players avoid painkiller addiction and could help former players who suffer brain injuries as a result of their time playing football. The business Washington is trying to start provides "hemp-infused products for athletes, according to The Cannabist.
And with the Hail Mary suit, medical marijuana advocates will have to hope Washington's legal team is more '98 Broncos than '96 Jets.
