Some athletes come late to cannabis. Take MLB Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. He only recently started to use it for aches and pains. Now, he's an investor in and an ambassador for Verilife, a multi-state retailer owned by Chicago-based Pharma Cann.
Sandberg, 61, played second base for the Cubs from 1982-1997. He accumulated 2,386 hits, 1,061 RBI and 282 home runs and batted .285. Sandberg was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.
“I really didn’t know anything about it, I didn’t have any interest in it,” Sandberg says about cannabis. “Now, it’s every day sometimes, as I’m looking for something to take the edge off.”
His regimen is gummies and tinctures for pain relief and insomnia.
Ryne Sandberg on cannabis: "I’m looking for something to take the edge off."
“There are a lot of people out there that are kind of curious and not quite sure what cannabis is and how it’s used,” PharmaCann COO Mehul Patel explains. “What Ryne went through and his ability to then sort of relate to others who are going through the same things as cannabis continues to expand and new entrants come into the market, I think that is a very powerful story.”
Due to declining numbers, Sandberg retired in 1994 only to return for two more seasons in 1996 and 1997. Overall, he was named to the All-Star team 10 times and was the National League MVP in 1984. However, he never played in the World Series.
Sandberg is among the many athletes who've turned to cannabis for relief. But he is the first former MLB player to join a cannabis company.
Others athletes for cannabis include:
