Super Bowl 56 is held in the state for the first time with legal recreational marijuana
LOS ANGELES — Whether it’s a joint, edible or other cannabis product, this will be a first for the Super Bowl.
On Sunday, some fans will enter a marijuana dispensary, say, less than two miles from SoFi Stadium.
Inside, they’ll find not only pre-rolled joints, but also cannabis-infused edibles, cannabis-infused drinks, and cannabis-infused gummies, possibly available in Los Angeles Rams team colors and of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Then, without a medical marijuana card or fear of being arrested, fans 21 and older can buy cannabis from the licensed dispensary and be part of football history.
This will be the first Super Bowl played in a state where recreational marijuana is legal.
Voters in the state approved the required proposal in November 2016, and the Los Angeles area in particular has become a thriving market for the legal sale and use of recreational marijuana.
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There are two licensed dispensaries within two miles of SoFi Stadium that sell cannabis for recreational use, and there are approximately 200 such dispensaries in Los Angeles County. They go by names like SkyhighLa, Puff Los Angeles, and LA Wonderland Marijuana, and Pineapple Express is among several retailers offering home and hotel delivery.
Is it any wonder that weed addict and rapper Snoop Dogg is one of the performers scheduled for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show?
Ricky Williams, the retired NFL running back and 1998 Heisman Trophy winner, took the opportunity to relaunch his personal brand of cannabis called “Highsman”. (Get it? Otherwise, you may have had too many edibles.) One of Williams’ business partners sells a cannabis strain called “Sticky Ricky.”
The image of Marshawn Lynch, the former NFL star, has been featured in advertisements for Gorilla RX, a dispensary in Los Angeles. “Fill up for the Superbowl,” recommends the online ad.
“The bud Bowl,” a cannabis vendor calls Super Bowl 56. It’s the bud as in the blooming marijuana bud that Snoop likes to smoke, not the old Budweiser Bud Bowl Super Bowl ad campaign.
Bud Bowl Basics: Recreational marijuana became legal in California in 2016. Marijuana and cannabis are interchangeable terms.
CBD, the extract from a marijuana plant without the psychoactive compound, is sold in oils and creams and widely marketed as a pain reliever. THC, on the other hand, is the extract that can get you higher than an NFL punt and is the main draw of licensed marijuana dispensaries.
The NFL had no direct comment on the so-called Bud Bowl, other than to confirm that marijuana remains on the league’s “restricted” product list, meaning it won’t be on the list. sell or announced during matches or during broadcasts.
That means your favorite Super Bowl commercial this year won’t involve a blunt or a bong despite the intersection of big game and legal cannabis.
“It’s pretty special, even though the NFL has chosen not to allow us to play a role in the Super Bowl,” said Marie St. Fleur, acting executive director and CEO of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. “It’s exciting that there is a conversation about the cannabis industry.”
The NFL is big business, with the league generating $16 billion in 2019 and more than $10 million in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cannabis is even more important.
Fueled by the legalization of marijuana in states like California, sales of legal recreational cannabis in the United States are expected to reach $25 billion per year in 2025, up from $7.4 billion in 2019, according to Statista.
Sales of legal recreational cannabis in 2021 approached $15 billion, according to Statista.
Last year, as part of a collectively negotiated policy change, players were not tested for THC between April 20 and August 9. This gave NFL players an unprecedented four-month window to use marijuana without risk of suspension.
Then, on February 1, the NFL announced that it was awarding $1 million to medical researchers to study the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and neuroprotection against concussions in elite football players.
Williams, the retired running back, said cannabis has helped him battle social anxiety and depression and praised the NFL for funding the research.
“I mean, we can complain that it’s only $1 million,” said Williams, the retired running back who was suspended five times during his NFL career for violating policy. of the league on drug addiction. “What is it, like a fourth string quarterback money? But the NFL is pretty much saying it’s moving in a (new) direction, and I think that’s definitely going to create some goodwill with the players and probably other industries, not just sports, are paying attention.
Although Williams expressed no anger about the suspensions and the millions of dollars he lost as a result, he said he believed some of the league’s past policies regarding drug use were racist.
“I think it’s time to start taking a look at that and making some changes and it feels like the NFL is on that path,” Williams said.
On Saturday, Williams was scheduled to attend the annual Super Bowl bash sponsored by Leigh Steinberg, the sports agent whose guest list included Adam Sandler, Kelsey Grammer and members of the cannabis industry.
Tim Dodd, owner of cannabis retailer Sweet Flower, planned to attend the party as the exclusive cannabis sponsor and bring representatives from three cannabis brands with him.
“We’re really trying to de-stigmatize and normalize cannabis use,” Dodd said. “It all seems to be falling into place, especially for Los Angeles.”
But there was a hitch during the preparations for the party, which was to be held at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City.
Sony reps said they don’t want any cannabis products on the lot, so revelers should pick up their goodie bags at Sweet Flower — conveniently located 300 feet across from the studio lot, Dodd said. .
Steinberg stressed that he would abide by Sony’s wishes and that his concern for the health and well-being of gamers led him to allow representatives from the cannabis industry at his party.
“Look, the biggest danger to this country in the sense of drugs is opioid addiction,” Steinberg said, “and football is the sport that has endless injuries and pain. I’ve had players who have been discharged from hospital with injuries addicted to opioids. I think we need to explore a real alternative to this.
Of course, Steinberg understood that some of his partygoers might want cannabis for non-medicinal purposes.
“Look, I was student vice president at Berkeley in the ’60s, okay? “, he said. “I understand.”
The sale and consumption of cannabis is prohibited at SoFi Stadium, but industry experts have speculated that some fans will arrive with edibles or vapes to discreetly consume the goods. Ricky Williams, however, planned to be somewhere else — at a private Super Bowl party in the Los Angeles area.
“We’re going to enjoy ‘Sticky Ricky’ and good football,” he said.
USA Today
