Jordan Reed pushes for more research, less regulation, regarding athletes and cannabis

Former NFL player Jordan Reed explains why he's investing in cannabis during retirement.

Video Transcript

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JARED BLIKRE: Welcome back to Yahoo Finance. I'm Jared Blikre. And we have with us now Jordan Reid, former NFL player. He has a new venture, and we're going to talk about it here. It's a cannabis play. And just want to back up a second. Now, you had a very promising career. You made it to the Pro Bowl. But you were beset by injuries. I believe I read you had seven concussions. So how did you get here? And what made you interested in this new venture?

JORDAN REED: Yeah, man. Like you said, I had a ton of injuries during my playing years, and, you know, I got familiar with cannabis during that time, you know, using it to medicate myself, to help me get through concussions and the surgeries and things. So, you know, I found that it was very effective for me, and that's what really sparked my interest to want to learn more about it.

And, you know, as I started learning, I started, you know, finding out about how much potential it has as a medicine. And, you know, hearing about how tremendous the industry is going and, you know, how much growth is still to be had in the industry really motivated me to want to, you know, start my own company and really grow alongside the industry.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, and, Jordan, you wrote recently in an op-ed for the "USA Today" that you want to change how cannabis is perceived. You want to change how it's prescribed. You want to change how it's researched. Obviously, your company playing a role in this. But I'm curious what role you think the NFL could potentially play in this or some of the other professional sports leagues that do have athletes that do use marijuana as a way to cope with some of the pain that they are receiving as a result?

JORDAN REED: Yeah, you know, at the time right now, it's still a schedule I drug. So, you know, the amount of research out there is not very much, and that's what really slowing down our process to, you know, really take advantage of all the benefits that it offers. And I think the NFL, they're starting to, you know, start putting feelers out there for research and things like that and, you know, wanting to learn more about CBD.

So I think that's a great step in the right direction. You know, I'm really, really hopeful that, you know, people in sports continue to allow athletes to have options to medicate themselves, because everyone knows how dangerous opioids are. And, you know, I think cannabis is a much safer alternative. And I think, you know, with more research, you know, that'll be, you know, a more common belief.

JARED BLIKRE: Now, we have the Olympics coming up. So we shift gears a little bit-- a little bit here about one of the runners isn't going to be allowed to qualify or participate in the games because of testing positive for cannabis. I didn't know it was a performance-enhancing drug. But I'm just wondering, what's your take on the situation?

JORDAN REED: I think it's a really tough situation. You know, she was obviously dealing with, you know, a hard situation at the time with the loss of her mother. And, you know, like I said before, cannabis, you know, is another option. You know, elite athletes, we put a lot of stress on our bodies, and we deal with a lot of pain constantly.

And, you know, if the only option you have is to use opioids, you know, that's very dangerous. You're putting yourself at a very high risk to become addicted to opium. So, you know, her being suspended for something that's legal in a lot of states around-- around the country is-- you know, it was really discouraging to see. And, you know, I wish-- I wish the best for her. I hope-- I know she's going to bounce back, and she's a true warrior.

JARED BLIKRE: Yeah, we wish the best for her, too. Jordan Reed, former NFL player, thank you for joining us today.