Is the NHL the future of marijuana in pro sports? Why it could be

Player X is in the NHL. After home games, he has a routine. Typically, he’ll meet a few teammates at a local restaurant for a late dinner. He likes to order steak after games — medium rare, with a side salad and mashed potatoes. Then he’ll go home.

Player X sometimes has a hard time unwinding; it was a day of unbounded stimulation. He woke up and arrived at the rink for a morning skate and meetings, went home to nap, returned to the arena for warm-ups (bright lights and eardrum-blasting music), then exerted his body for 20-something sub-one-minute shifts during which he shoves, sprints, reaches, shoots, gets hit and sometimes bleeds on the ice. By the time he gets home at night, he needs something to ease the process of getting to bed. So he’ll often reach for his weed pen and take a few hits. “Just to relax,” he says. “Honestly, it’s the easiest and most natural way for me to fall asleep and be ready for the next day.” [Read more at ESPN]