On Wednesday, August 3, Green Bay Packers star Quarterback Aaron Rodgers credited the use of a psychedelic drug for his back-to-back MVP awards.
“I really feel like that experience (the psychedelic drugs) paved the way for me to have the best season of my career.”
On the Aubrey Marcus Podcast, Rodgers talked about ayahuasca, which is a psychoactive tea containing the hallucinogenic drug DMT. Rodgers said the drug helped improve his mental health.
“To me, one of the core tenets of your mental health is that self-love,” Rodgers said. “That’s what ayahuasca did for me, was help me see how to unconditionally love myself.”
The origins of the drug trace back thousands of years to Central and South America, where it is used as a “healing drug.”
Ayahuasca is a brown-reddish drink with a strong taste and smell, and contains the active chemical dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies DMT as a hallucinogen. Unlike South America, the substance has no approved medical use in the United States and is considered a Schedule I drug. Marijuana, heroin, LSD, peyote and ecstasy are among other Schedule I drugs.
Rodgers’ new favorite drug is not only illegal in the United States, but is also listed among the NFL’s banned substances, meaning Rodgers has just admitted to violating NFL drug rules.
Other players who have violated NFL drug rules have faced hefty suspensions.
In 2014 Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon was suspended 11 games for violation of the drug policy rule.
Most recently, De’Andre Hopkins, the star wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, was suspended six games for consuming performance enhancing drugs.
Rodgers has now put both himself and the NFL in a difficult spot. Surely Commissioner Roger Goodell does not want Mike Tirico and Tony Dungy discussing DMT in front of 20 million viewers.
Rodgers has set a crazy precedent, and put the NFL in an even crazier spot regarding Rodgers’s potential punishment and ensuring that their corporation does not turn into the figure head for “life changing” psychedelic drugs.
