Last week, Rob Gronkowski, a highly regarded and recently-retired tight end for the New England Patriots, announced a new partnership with Abacus Health for a line of exciting new CBD products formulated specifically for athletes.
This new product line is aptly named CBDMEDIC, and boasts a diverse array of items, ranging from a topical cream for treating arthritic pain to a spray for muscle and joint pain relief. Needless to say, CBDMEDIC is certainly trying to cover all of their bases by offering multiple options for pain treatment to consumers.
Gronkowski’s announcement of his partnership with Abacus Health, and the underlying support for the CBDMEDIC product line is a big win for both the cannabis industry and former/current athletes suffering from chronic pain. Many in the latter category have become largely dependent on opiates, a crisis still ripping through the United States today. Per current NFL rules and regulations, CBD has been placed under the umbrella of a ‘cannabis product,’ and thus remains largely restricted.
Speaking candidly during a recent CNBC interview, Gronkowski spoke of a recent soccer injury which resulted in the severe jamming of three toes. Fortunately, CBDMEDIC’s awesome line came to the rescue and Gronkowski noticed a big difference, saying “Dang, this stuff really works!”
As we have seen the cannabis industry—CBD products in particular—slowly creep into the limelight, endorsements from reputable voices are a crucial next step toward building a positive reputation around cannabis as an effective medicine.
Additionally, it is my hope that Gronkowski’s rock-solid credibility as an accomplished athlete will further bolster changes to the NFL’s current policy stance on cannabis products.
Until then, we will have to take victories where we can find them. Make no mistake about it, Rob Gronkowski’s support for these products certainly says something, and will likely have a significant impact on the industry moving forward.
Photo credit: CNBC
