Eugene Monroe continues advocacy for medical marijuana

Former Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, who retired in July, continues to advocate for medical marijuana use in the NFL.

The 29-year-old said he first looked at using marijuana as an alternative to painkillers, such as Toradol, after undergoing shoulder surgery.

"Well, when I was recovering from my last shoulder surgery in December, I started to consider all of the things that I needed to do to get healthy and get back on the field," Monroe told Deadspin's Dom Cosentino. "I started to really understand just how bad things have been done prior, and I started to think that there has to be a healthier way to get through this."

Monroe said he didn't use marijuana during his playing career.

"No, I wasn’t using medical marijuana while I played," Monroe said. "The league bans medical marijuana and punishes players for testing positive for it, so that’s not something I did while I played."

Monroe also said he's contacted NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith about finding a solution for pain management.

"He's interested in finding solutions to the problems we have," Monroe said. I think anyone who looks at a pain management program that's based on prescribing opioids would recognize that it’s an issue at this point."

Monroe was released by the Ravens in June. He questioned whether his stance on marijuana had influenced the move.