Friday 9 September 2016

NFL Suspends Bills Offensive Tackle Henderson for 4 Games

Pop Culture | Cannabis in music and media, celebrity stories, as well as holiday ideas and other culture cues.

NFL Suspends Bills Offensive Tackle Henderson for 4 Games

The Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Seantrel Henderson has decided to drop plans to appeal the NFL’s four-game suspension even though his agent said the Bills right tackle was using marijuana for medicinal purposes to relieve the effects of Crohn’s disease.

The Bills announced Friday that Henderson was suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Henderson’s agent, Brian Fettner, told The Associated Press that his client tested positive for marijuana. Fettner added it was “futile” to appeal the league’s ruling.

Henderson was diagnosed with the inflammatory bowel disease late last year and had two operations on his intestines this past offseason. Doctors removed a section of diseased tissue in January, and Henderson then had his intestines reattached in April.

Source: Bills Tackle Appealing NFL’s 4-Game Suspension

Henderson declined to comment following practice Friday, two days before Buffalo opens the season at Baltimore. Jordan Mills will start at right tackle after taking over the job once Henderson was sidelined in December.

Several studies have found marijuana can be an effective treatment for Crohn’s. In New York, the state’s medical marijuana program specifically lists patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease as being potentially eligible to obtain medical marijuana.

Henderson previously acknowledged testing positive for the drug at the NFL combine in 2014 and said positive tests led to him being suspended several times in college.

New York Looks to Expand Medical Marijuana Program

He rejoined the team in late May and was cleared for practice last month . He won’t be eligible to practice until Oct. 3, a day after the Bills play at New England.

Henderson was Buffalo’s starting right tackle since his rookie season in 2014, when Buffalo drafted him in the seventh round out of the University of Miami.

The Bills filled Henderson’s roster spot by promoting kicker Jordan Gay from their practice squad. Gay was cut by Buffalo last month after spending the past two seasons as the team’s kickoff specialist. The Bills re-signed him this past week.

Crohns football nfl sorts