A player battling epilepsy will not be able to play as a walk-on safety at Auburn because he uses a prescription for cannabis oil to combat his illness, according to WXGA-TV.
C.J. Harris was diagnosed with epilepsy as a sophomore in high school, and after his 14th seizure he was prescribed cannabis oil by his doctor, which has allowed him to live a seizure-free life since January 20, 2017.
The safety was offered a preferred walk-on spot at Auburn, according to WXGA-TV, but the NCAA will not allow him to play at the school because of the prescription for cannabis oil.
“I broke down,” Harris told WXGA-TV. “This is my dream. I saw everything lining up perfectly for me.
The NCAA does not allow athletes to inject THC. Cannabis oil contains THC, which would register on drug tests.
Harris is exploring junior colleges and NAIA schools to play football, and is also exploring alternative medicines so he could play football and pass a drug test, according to the report.
“You’re taking something away from a kid who’s worked so hard in his life to get there,” his father, Curtis Harris, said, according to WXGA-TV. “And you’re just taking it away because he’s taking a medication that’s helping with his disability.”
C’mon, dad. It’s the NCAA. Try not to act so disappointed.
Get The Picture 
Legalize it. Don’t criticize it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never scored high on reading comprehension did you? He’s using prescribed cannabis oil. It’s not a question of legality.
LikeLike
With the NCAA it is obviously illegal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The power to make it legal resides solely with the NCAA. Who are we supposed to criticize?
LikeLike
The Boz was right – National Communists Against Athletes
LikeLike
They are tone death when they prohibit a doctor from giving the kid a more normal life and justify recreational drug problems as the cause. Can those same kids be prescribed OxyContin and those type drugs? SMH
LikeLike
I’m no weed advocate by any means. But this particular story screams for a social medial assault on the NCAA.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree
LikeLike
Count me in.
LikeLike
Any comment from the SEC office? I’d be curious how our conference would handle it.
LikeLike
What is their concern here? Can anyone even see their reasoning for taking a hardline in this case? Im genuinely asking.
Is it lack of brains or guts that makes the NCAA so cold to mitigating circumstances?
LikeLike
I guess you can’t rule out the possibility that they are sadistic assholes.
LikeLike
Another example of a no tolerance policy taking any rational thinking out of the equation. Much like the UGA drug enforcement policy. I wonder if he could use CBD oil without THC as an alternative to pass the drug testing. The issue is that the schedule 1 labeling of marijuana needs to be reduced to allow more research to be done (and not having to jump through tons of hoops), so we can better understand dosages, side effects, and isolate the medicinally valuable compounds. So that require 1) the federal government to get their act together, and then 2) the NCAA to use rational thought in implementing new rules. Not looking good for this kid unfortunately.
LikeLike
It’s a conspiracy, man. The government is in the pocket of big pharma, and they know the medicinal properties of cannabis. Then the Feds turn around and allow the drug companies to manufacture and aggressively market heroin in pill form, killing thousands of people a year.
LikeLike
The U S Pharmacopeia at one time listed cannabis, meaning it was a drug in good standing to be used by all. They didn’t take it out of circulation; conservative “Devil Weed” advocates did so years ago.
In the late 70s, I proposed purification of THC to be used medicinally and for research before an audience of scientists in the pharmaceutical company where we all worked. They voted not to do so since the market was limited as to the number of recipients at that time and it would take 8 years of expense until fruition as a product. Lucky for us, since Merck came out with a THC pill within 3-4 years afterwards, but it failed to have the properties (when ingested) that was displayed when inhaling and never became a marketable drug.
Ethical drug companies that I have worked within have some of the most conservative scientists of any scientific companies in America and the highest ethical conduct when it comes to being allowed to market drugs that can be injected past your immune system or taken in any form. Opioids are controlled substances that belong in Schedules or Classes according to their abuse and safety problems. Schedule I or Class I drugs are illegal for this reason and include narcotics such as heroin, LSD and cocaine. Unfortunately, marijuana remains in this group even though it is legalized for medical and recreational use in many states. Schedule II drugs (there are five Schedules or Classes) have a high potential for abuse and dependence, an accepted medical usage and the potential for severe addiction including opioids based on high dosage codeine, Fentanyl, oxycodone, Methamphetamine, Barbituates and includes opium and morphine.
Abuse of these drugs by patients and furnished through black markets is what causes many drug problems and is not the resultant of some “conspiracy”. Meanwhile, without legislation forthcoming, Marijuana remains a Class I Drug and is illegal. My point is that people should get involved and demand that it be dropped from Schedule I and taken to a lesser Schedule to preclude individual state constitutional movements and the concomitant expense that would make it legal. And, yes, it takes an Act of Congress to do that.
LikeLike
Cocaine is a schedule 2 drug, further illuminating how idiotic it is that Cocaine “has” an acceptable medical use but marijuana “doesn’t”.
LikeLike
That’s bad, even for them. He and his family are taking it much better than I would. This deserves national publication.
LikeLike
Prescription????? What a criminal! How dare he take prescription medication!!!!
I don’t know had he been prescribed opioids he would have been good. Common sense is not a common virtue.
I would lawyer up.
LikeLike
Is CBD oil a banned substance in the NFL? I can’t imagine an over the counter drug that is not performance enhancing would be a big deal.
Perhaps this has more to do with the disease. It can’t be a good idea for an epileptic to play football, right? Maybe its just a way to keep this kid off the field.
LikeLike
CBD is completely legal so there should be no issues with the NCAA or NFL. I agree with Huntindawg, social media onslaught is justified in this case.
LikeLike
I think it is a bad idea for an epileptic to play football. But if the kid and his family want to take the risk, that’s their business. If the NCAA wanted to prohibit epileptics from playing sports, it would be a better rule than using the script to Reefer Madness as policy.
LikeLike
If the NCAA wanted to prohibit epileptics from playing sports, then they’d be looking at a possible ADA lawsuit.
LikeLike
“I think it is a bad idea for an epileptic to play football.”
Why?
LikeLike
Honestly, I’m not trying to be a troll here, and I’m pretty much agnostic in the marijuana debate. I have a good-faith question for the group: Some (here and elsewhere) seem to be disturbed that the NCAA is banning the kid for taking medicine prescribed by his doctor. Aren’t there lots of other medicines which a doctor might legitimately prescribe which would also run afoul of the NCAA?
LikeLike
Not positive, but I think only meds that could be classified as performance enhancers are on the banned list, besides cannabinol obviously.
LikeLike
Response to Gravidy: Yes. Medications containing anabolic steroids. Remember the UGA offensive lineman who had to sit put 2 seasons?
LikeLike
Yes, I remember Kolton Houston’s plight. We were all (I think) rightly indignant over that situation. I think we should also be indignant over this instance as well. The devil is always in the details of how all of this is enforced, of course.
LikeLike
Kolton Houston comes to mind.
LikeLike
I have some first hand knowledge of this. He needs to get Quicksilver brand CDB oil (can get off ebay), not knowing how much CDB he needs for his condition it might not be strong enough to give him the desired effects. It has not shown up in any testing and works great. I know a family member that has used it to help with chemotherapy side effects and was tested and showed “Negative.” I have always been against these types of things, until first hand knowledge and research, when really I was just ignorant of the facts,
LikeLike
Sounds like don’t ask, don’t tell….but I like it.
LikeLike
Auburn tests for drugs?
LikeLike
If CJ’s epilepsy is considered a disability and THC having cannabis oil is the only medical option to control it (I have no idea if this is the case, but it might be), could CJ have a legal case against the NCAA?
LikeLike