Former Raven Won't Stop Fighting for NFL's Acceptance of Medical Marijuana

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- After parting ways with the Baltimore Ravens, free agent offensive tackle Eugene Monroe took to Twitter to continue his campaign to get the NFL to recognize medical marijuana as an acceptable alternative to traditional pain treatment.

Monroe has been outspoken in his advocacy for medical marijuana since becoming the first active NFL player to publicly champion the cause. The Ravens, who released the eight-year veteran Wednesday after failing to find a willing trade partner, did not share his fervor.

But if his tweets are any indication, Monroe isn't dialing back his crusade.

"Despite the current uncertainties, one thing is for sure: whatever happens in terms of my professional football career, I will never stop pushing for the League to accept medical cannabis as a viable option for pain management," Monroe wrote in a statement he tweeted Thursday.

"I will do everything I can to ensure the generations of NFL players after me won't have to resort to harmful and addictive opioids as their only option for pain management."

It remains to be seen whether Monroe, who's returning from injury, will catch on with another team. He was held out of this week's mini camp while the Ravens tried unsuccessfully to deal him.

Whichever team does take a chance on him will have to make peace with his views. His beliefs, which ESPN reports he's backed up with an $80,000 donation to medical marijuana research, were detailed previously in a personal essay for The Players Tribune:

The NFL should remove marijuana from the banned substances list;
The league should pay for medical marijuana research, particularly where it concerns concussions and CTE;
Teams need to stop zealously prescribing opioids as the pain reliever of choice.

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— Eugene Monroe (@MrEugeneMonroe) June 16, 2016

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