What has the NFL said about Packers QB Rodgers consuming ayahuasca?
League spokesman Brian McCarthy says Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won’t be punished by the NFL for consuming ayahuasca.
Aaron Rodgers revealed last week that during a trip to South America he consumed the plant-based psychedelic drug ayahuasca, and that it helped him to improve his performances for the Green Bay Packers.
A number of figures associated with the NFL expected the league to punish Rodgers, but that will not happen.
Ayahuasca not among the NFL’s banned substances
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that finding any trace of the substance in Rodgers’ system would not have meant a positive result under the NFL’s drug abuse policies.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association established a list of prohibited substances in the last collective bargaining agreement, but ayahuasca is not on it, so the Packers quarterback did not break any rules.
What substances are on the banned list?
On the list of 191 prohibited substances agreed upon by the players’ union and the league, synthetic cannabinoids are prohibited by the league, but not ayahuasca. Drugs on the banned list are separated into anabolic agents, masking agents and stimulants. Among the best known prohibited substances are growth hormones, clenbuterol, methyltestosterone, nandrolone and stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin.
Players may receive a therapeutic use exemption from the league through an independent administrator, to treat hypertension, hypogonadism, hypopituitarism, baldness and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.