Le Batard was saying this morning that the NFL shouldn't penalize for positive tests on pot, but he's jumping the gun.It's only legal in some states, so they aren't going to change the law until it's legal in all states.
I agree, people should not be penalized, I've had my issues with drugs and alcohol, and my best friend smokes pot, yet I have zero issue with it. But it's the legal issue whether anyone agrees with it or not. It comes down to following the law.
I sincerely hope that once it is completely legalized, that the NFL will come off their "high horse" and stop testing for it. But until then, they are like the Federal Government, glacial in change.
As far as penalizing people for using, it's the only thing people with an alcohol or drug issue understand. Until we take several hay makers to the face, we just don't understand that we need to change. The sad thing is that some never get that wake up moment, but instead the legal system keeps putting them back out on the street until they become a corpse.
If you're interested in one or two movies that demonstrate what addiction is like, watch Basketball Diaries and/or Traffic. Both are very well done. I had trouble watching Traffic, it took me several tries.
As far as Josh Gordon goes, he reminds me of JaMarcus Russell, all world talent, small world brain. Things came so easily to them that they had no discipline, and in the NFL circle, there are plenty of people who will hop on that gravy train and drag you down.
But there may also be some historical issues with people like them, something that happened to them when they were young, or something they did that weighs on them, and like TwistedHusky mentioned above, they're self-medicating, trying to pretend there's nothing wrong, and that they are happy. And fortunately for them, their drug of choice (weed or purple drank) isn't necessarily a lethal one.
I hope Josh Gordon gets his life together, whether he makes it back to football is not as important as dealing with his demons. But if the rumors about him hanging out with Manziel are true, he's already screwed.