HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	40
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the national football league to allow injured players to use cannabidiol in pill or liquid form, in lieu of opioids, to address the pain from their work-related injuries.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, every day, more than 90 Americans die after overdosing on opioids, including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl; and

 

WHEREAS, the misuse of and addiction to opioids is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare; and

 

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total economic burden of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78,500,000,000 per year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and involvement with the criminal justice system; and

 

WHEREAS, in 2015, more than 33,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose and an estimated 2,000,000 individuals in the United States suffered from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers, and 591,000 suffered from a heroin use disorder; and

 

WHEREAS, approximately 21 to 29 percent of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them; between eight and 12 percent develop an opioid use disorder; an estimated four to six percent of individuals who misuse prescription opioids transition to heroin; and about 80 percent of individuals who use heroin first misused prescription opioids; and

 

WHEREAS, this situation has become a public health crisis with devastating consequences, including increases in opioid misuse and related overdoses as well as a rising incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome due to opioid use and misuse during pregnancy; and

 

WHEREAS, the increase in injection drug use has also contributed to the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C; and

 

     WHEREAS, many National Football League players suffer from serious injuries during their careers due to the nature of their work and are often prescribed opioids to help alleviate the pain from their injuries; and

 

     WHEREAS, the dangers of overuse and abuse of opioids have been well-documented; and

 

     WHEREAS, however, research studies have demonstrated that cannabidiol is non-intoxicating but exerts a number of beneficial pharmacological effects--for instance, cannabidiol is anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, antiemetic, and antipsychotic; and

 

     WHEREAS, although cannabidiol is a component of marijuana, it does not produce the psychoactive effects that have made marijuana attractive for recreational use; and

 

     WHEREAS, it may be preferable for and beneficial to the health and well-being of injured football players to be allowed to use cannabidiol in pill or liquid form, in lieu of opioids, to address the pain from their work-related injuries; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, that the National Football League is urged to allow injured National Football League players to use cannabidiol in pill or liquid form, in lieu of opioids, to address the pain from work-related injuries; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Commissioner of the National Football League and the respective General Managers of each of the teams that compose the National Football League.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

National Football League; Cannabidiol in Pill or Liquid Form; Pain from Injuries