SAFER co-founders and (Marijuana Is Safer coauthors) Steve Fox and Mason Tvert have a post on AlterNet's SpeakEasy discussing Ben Roethlisberger, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was recently accused of alcohol-related sexual assault (again), and how the NFL's anti-marijuana policy might be fueling such behavior.

Here's an excerpt, or you can CLICK HERE to read the entire post:

If the NFL Were More Lenient About Pot, Would the Players Get Involved in Less Drunken Violence?

...This week, the media world is buzzing with news of an alleged sexual assault by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The least surprising aspect of these reports is that the incident occurred at a club in which alcohol is served. We do not know at this point whether Big Ben was drinking or whether the alleged victim was drinking, but there have been reports that young women were recruited from the main part of the club back to a VIP room where the quarterback was holding court. One article noted that “free drinks” were part of the enticement.

I don’t want to delve into whether a criminal act was or was not committed that night. That is for the legal system to determine. My reason for bringing up this incident is to point out how it is in some ways a result of the policies of the National Football League.

 Let’s assume for a second that no alleged sexual assault occurred that night. Would we ever have heard about Big Ben’s night out? Of course not. But what if, instead of trolling for young women, he had spent the evening chillin’ with friends, enjoying some marijuana, listening to tunes and shooting pool. A couple months later, we might have read – as we did after Ricky Williams made the “mistake” of using marijuana – that he had been suspended for four games for violating the league’s banned substance policy.

This is the league’s policy. Go to a club and drink – No problem. Stay at home and enjoy a little marijuana – Get suspended...