Athletes for CARE & Cannabis Athlete Advocacy Groups 2026
Athletes for CARE (founded 2017 by Eugene Monroe, Marvin Washington, Riley Cote, Cliff Robinson), Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, USADA Athlete Express, NCAA Sport Science Institute — the resources athletes actually use.
Athletes for CARE
Athletes for CARE (athletesforcare.org) is the largest U.S. athlete-led cannabis-policy advocacy group. Founded in 2017 by Eugene Monroe (NFL), Marvin Washington (NFL), Riley Cote (NHL), Cliff Robinson (NBA), and others, it provides mental-health and harm-reduction resources alongside structural policy advocacy. Athletes for CARE was a key antecedent to the 2020-2024 league-policy reform wave; its founders' op-ed and public-testimony work directly shaped the 2020 NFL-NFLPA CBA discussions and the broader Joint Pain Management Committee research portfolio.
Doctors for Cannabis Regulation
Doctors for Cannabis Regulation (dfcr.org) is the physician-led organization advocating evidence-based regulation. DFCR has issued position statements on athlete cannabis use and remains the most clinically-grounded voice in policy debates over the WADA Prohibited List and league CBA terms.
USADA & WADA: How to Verify a Substance Status
- USADA Athlete Express — phone 1-866-601-2632 or email drugreference@USADA.org for substance-status questions, supplement-risk discussion, and TUE-pathway questions.
- GlobalDRO.com — the Global Drug Reference Online; search specific medications by brand or active ingredient against the WADA Prohibited List.
- WADA Anti-Doping Knowledge Hub (wada-ama.org) — the 2026 Prohibited List, ADEL (Anti-Doping eLearning) platform, and Athlete and ASP Guide PDFs.
Third-Party Certification Databases
- NSF Certified for Sport — nsfsport.com and the NSF mobile app. Searchable, batch-level verification. USADA explicitly recommends always verifying logos against the database due to documented logo-misuse cases. See verified NSF CBD products.
- Informed Sport — sport.wetestyoutrust.com. UKAD-aligned, batch-tests for WADA banned substances.
- BSCG (Banned Substances Control Group) — Drug-Free certification.
League-Specific Resources
- NFLPA Substance Abuse helpline; NFL/NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee public reports (co-chairs Dr. Kevin Hill and Dr. Thom Mayer). The PMC has funded UC San Diego, University of Regina, ASPN, and Emory cannabinoid research.
- NBA/NBPA Mental Health & Wellness Program (established 2018; expanded under the 2023 CBA).
- MLB/MLBPA Joint Treatment Board.
- NHL/NHLPA SABH Program — Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health, with co-medical-directors Dr. Dave Lewis and Dr. Brian Shaw. Confidential treatment-first model.
- NCAA Sport Science Institute (ncaa.org/sport-science-institute).
Sports-Medicine Cannabis Clinicians
- Society of Cannabis Clinicians (cannabisclinicians.org) — physician directory.
- UC San Diego Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research — Dr. Mark Wallace and Dr. Thomas Marcotte; co-PIs on the NFL Joint PMC vaporized 4% THC / 12% CBD / combined / placebo trial for post-competition soft-tissue pain.
- Beth Israel Deaconess — Dr. Kevin Hill (Director of Addiction Psychiatry, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School; co-chair of the NFL/NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee).
- NYU Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center — Dr. Orrin Devinsky (Epidiolex pivotal-trial lead investigator; relevant to athletes considering CBD pharmacology).
Substance Abuse and Mental-Health Frontline Resources
- SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357). 24/7, confidential, free.
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — dial or text 988.
- NCAA Mental Health Best Practices — the institutional framework for collegiate athletic-program mental-health programming.
- NFLPA's "The Trust" — alumni resource for former NFL players including mental-health, transition, and substance-use support.