A former premier of Nova Scotia has been tapped by the Canadian Football League Alumni Association (CFLAA) for his knowledge on cannabis.
Darrell Dexter is vice chair of Global Public Affairs and chairs their branch representing marijuana industry clients.
He’s now the chair of the CFL Alumni Association’s advisory board on medical cannabis, which will oversee an upcoming study of the impacts of cannabis on chronic pain management.
“I am honoured to be appointed to chair this important panel that will support former CFL players in making informed decisions on the use of medical cannabis. Players may face a variety of medical challenges in their post-athletic careers and the use of medical cannabis has the potential to play an important part in enhancing players’ physical health,” says Dexter.
The board will also include former players and medical and legal experts.
Dexter says the research is important because of shifting attitudes to cannabis and its detriments were once the main focus of studies, not its benefits.
“There are these observational studies that are taking place not just in Canada but around the world as people are seeking to understand what the appropriate uses of medical cannabis are,” says Dexter.
“These studies that were done in the past focused more on the detrimental effects of cannabis and really sought to discredit any type of therapeutic value.”
The study will involve between 50 and 100 former players and will follow them as they use cannabis for pain relief.
The CFLAA has some 2,000 members.
Dexter, a lawyer by profession, began lobbying for the medical cannabis industry back in 2017.
His branch of Global Public Affairs represents a broad number of companies including licensed producers, people in the supply chain, and people who are considering entry into the cannabis market.
“I have amassed a fair amount of experience in the sector,” says Dexter.
He says it started with his initial work with Global Public Affairs and the creation of the new branch.
“We realized very quickly there was an enormous amount of money and people moving into this sector and it was going to become a very large sector in the economy, likely on par with the beverage, alcohol industry,” he says .”We saw this as an opportunity for us to do some research and offer some guidance to companies and boards getting involved in the sector.
The advisory board will present their recommendations to the CFLAA executive in advance of the Grey Cup Festival in November.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
Email: wentzell.brittany@radioabl.ca
