Legal weed is a thing, and golf should treat it as such

by | Jan 3, 2020 | 19th Hole

First things first: If you’re looking for an unbiased opinion on marijuana’s place on (or off) the golf course, go somewhere else — you outta know where we stand.

Weed’s already legal in some form in 22 states in this country, fully legal in 11 of them, and adding more to the list with each election cycle. The NHL doesn’t punish players for using it, the MLB has removed it from its list of banned substances, too, and hoards of athletes, including some golfers, have begun citing the benefits and even promoting the use of cannabis products. Yet some powers that be still believe a drug is a drug is a drug — and drugs are bad, mmmkay.

Robert Garrigus learned the PGA Tour’s stance on the issue last March after he was suspended for testing positive for “elevated levels” of THC. The 22-year Tour veteran lives in Washington State (where weed is legal for medicinal and recreational use), reportedly owns a weed farm himself, and uses it to treat knee and back pain as prescribed by his doctor. While he’s no stranger to the drug culture, having checked himself into rehab in 2003 and speaking publicly about his struggle with substance abuse, he’s still a far cry from your standard “pothead” stereotype. He tried his best, with the help of his doctor, to stay within the tour’s limits and play by the rules to no avail, and it cost him 12 Tour events.

If anything, Garrigus should be heralded, not punished, for overcoming his past of alcohol and drug abuse and speaking publicly about it. After all, anyone remember what Tiger Woods went through?

After his return at the 3M Open in July, Garrigus’ stance on marijuana hasn’t changed, and it’s a familiar tune that mirrors some of the common sense that’s allowed for marijuana legalization to become so widely accepted.

“I could be on OxyContin on the golf course and get [an exemption] for that. I think that’s ridiculous. The Tour can talk to me all they want about it but that is a double standard,” Garrigus told USA Today. “The fact that it is socially unacceptable for cannabis and CBD right now blows my mind. It’s OK to take Oxycontin and black out and run into a bunch of people, but you can’t take CBD and THC without someone looking at you funny. It makes no sense,” Garrigus said.

Let’s play a quick game of Would You Rather. Would you rather you or a loved one take pharmaceutical substances proven to be highly addictive and often lead to overdose, or smoke a plant? (In case you haven’t heard, we’re in the middle of an opioid epidemic in this country that’s being fueled by pharmaceuticals like OxyContin.) Next round: Would you rather you or a loved one take OTC drugs proven to cause liver and kidney damage with prolonged use, or smoke a plant? And for the bonus: Would you rather athletes and their doctors be able to decide what’s best for them to be able to perform, or leave it up to the business people representing a sports brand?

I know my answers.

“[The Tour] had to deflect. They have an image to protect and uphold.” Garrigus said after meeting with Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan at the 2019 John Deere Classic.

Let’s talk about that image for a second then. Alcohol and golf often go hand-in-hand, and the likes of Arnold Palmer, John Daly and others made smoking heaters and stogies a fixture in the highest levels of the sport. There’s no controversy there, no sponsorship money lost or anything close to suspensions. Why is recreational marijuana so much different? The question still stands outside of recreational use: Why can’t a player use a legalized, prescribed medication to treat themselves off the course?

It’d be one thing if changing its stance on marijuana meant the Tour would be overrun by weed brands or whatever else it deems unsavory to its image, but that’s not going to happen — the NHL and MLB are certainly no worse off. At the end of the day, it’s not even about upholding the sanctity of sport, or upholding an image at all. PEDs and “hard” drugs aside, who the fuck cares what people do in their off time so long as it’s not affecting the results on the leaderboard?

Really, as legalization becomes even more widespread, the Tour’s just setting itself up for more stories like that of Garrigus’. It’s an issue that’ll keep on growing, like a weed.

That time CGB talked weed with CLICKON for “Mile-High Golf” documentary

by | Sep 5, 2016 | 19th Hole

milehigh

There are certain people who you can just tell smoke weed — apparently we here at the CGB are amongst those people.

When CLICKON Golf producers/filmmakers Ian Cumming and Jeremy Frankenthal contacted us wanting to talk about “cannabis and golf in Colorado,” we weren’t really sure what they had in mind. (Just another day on the course for us.)

“We gotta go to Top Golf to do this interview about weed and golf,” CGB cofounder Lee Johnson texted me. “What do they want to know?” I replied back.

“IDK but I said yes,” Lee said. Of course he did.

CGB wasn’t at the top of the list of interviewees for CLICKON’s documentary, Mile-High Golf— we were just one of the few who would actually talk to them about the relationship between golf and weed in Colorado. “We didn’t think it’d be that big a deal,” Jeremy said about the reservations people had when approached with the subject. Lucky for them, if you offer us an evening at Top Golf and want to talk about weed, we’re always available.

The short of it is yes, whether the old guard likes it or not, weed and golf go together in Colorado maybe a little bit more than other places — legalization really is a beautiful thing — but that’s CLICKON’s story to tell.

The game of golf and the culture around it are changing forever, and the pot-heads are going to be amongst those playing through. Visit us in Colorado — get high and let if fly.