Cowboys' Irving defends marijuana use, thumps NFL's pot policy

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle David Irving defended his previous use of marijuana Saturday and lashed out against the NFL's ban of pot as a treatment for pain on his Instagram account.

Irving is slated to miss the first four games of the regular season due to a suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. While responding to a critical comment on one of his Instagram posts, Irving confirmed it was marijuana that landed him in trouble with the league.

"These guys prescribe me Xanax bars, Ambien, and painkillers," he wrote in a reply to a different comment, according to SportsDay DFW. "Some of us, like myself, have been smoking weed since 12. Never been in trouble (with) the law. Always had a 3.0 (GPA) or higher too. It's natural, I'd much rather smoke weed than take all that lab-made (expletive). ... The NFL laws on weed are (expletive) (and) we all know it."

Irving, a native Californian, added that he has a valid medical card and has played "medicated" in every game during his three-year career.

"You run into someone else full speed 60 times (and) see how your body feels," he wrote in another comment. "What would you do? Drink? Percocets? Tylenol? I chose the more natural and safer route."

The 25-year-old said he will comply with the league's rules on marijuana in the future but strongly disagrees with them.

Irving registered 22 tackles and seven sacks in eight games for the Cowboys a year ago, emerging as one of their top defensive players. He missed the first four games last year because of a suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.