Former NFL player Nick Lowery sounds off on league grant for research how cannabis could help concussions

Former NFL player sounds off on league grant for research how cannabis could help concussions

Amid Super Bowl month, officials with the NFL say they are giving $1 million in funding to investigate the effects of cannabinoids on pain management, as well as its impact on concussion. FOX 10's Steve Nielsen spoke with former NFL player Nick Lowery on how this could help keep future athletes safe.

PHOENIX - CTE and concussions in football have been topics for years, and NFL officials have made some major changes to the rules, as well as helmet technology.

Now, during Super Bowl month, officials with the league announce that they are putting big bucks towards research on cannabis, with officials giving $1 million in funding to investigate the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and reducing the amount and severity of concussions.

"This is a very important step," said Nick Lower, a former All-Pro kicker. "The NFL and Player's Association are embracing this, and we can only do more to protect the next generation of athletes and life athletes as well."

Lowery, a seven-time All-Pro NFL kicker, now spends his time making sure future athletes can be safe playing the sport he loves.

"These helmets were really terrible," said Lowery. "They hardly provided any security whatsoever, so helmets have indeed improved a lot, but they never can do what we can do by protecting the neurons in the brain."

In 2018, Lowery appeared on FOX 10 to talk about the burgeoning science of CBD, and how oil from cannabis could help with concussions and CTE. Now, research funding is catching up.

"As important as helmets are, how the neurons protect themselves is far more important," said Lowery.

Lowery is a spokesperson for Neuropathix, which also announced a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study a derivative of cannabis to treat neuropathic pain. The research will be critical in determine a future for CBD in the NFL.

Lowery believes CBD can not just help protect a brain, but also help with the pain of concussions.