National Football League

Jim McMahon used marijuana to get off narcotic painkillers

Published Jan. 28, 2016 1:54 p.m. ET

Sid Saraf

Count the "Punky QB" in the pro-marijuana camp.

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon -- the man who led the famed 1985 team to a win in Super Bowl XX -- has dealt with severe health problems since retiring from the game. He's suffered headaches, depression, memory loss, vision problems, speech problems and to top it off, has been diagnosed with early onset dementia.

The pain from those health issues was so bad that McMahon was dependent on narcotic painkillers just to get him through the day. One hundred Percocet pills per day, to be exact.

"They were doing more harm than good," McMahold told the Chicago Tribune.

However, in addition to getting a chiropractic adjustment to fix what he says is a broken neck, he found a better treatment for his pain was to use marijuana. McMahon applied for a medical marijuana card in Arizona, his home state, and has been using since.

"This medical marijuana has been a godsend. It relieves me of the pain -- or thinking about it, anyway," he said.

McMahon uses the indica strain of marijuana and typically smokes three times per day. He even tried to get into the medical weed business, but that ultimately fell through. He is going public about his use of marijuana to help other people that are suffering.

Currently, 23 states along with Washington D.C. allow the use of medical marijuana.