Reuters

6:42 a.m. AKDT, May 19, 2012

The Sports Xchange

Former NFL lineman: At least 50 percent of players use marijuana

Former NFL offensive lineman Lomas Brown, an ESPN analyst, believes more than half of NFL players smoke marijuana.

Brown made his claim to the Detroit News on Friday.

He said that three marijuana-related arrests of Detroit Lions players this offseason are just examples of what is a widespread problem in the league.

"I just don't think you'll be able to curb this," Brown told the newspaper.

Brown said the problem was much worse when he joined the NFL in 1985, when he believes perhaps 90 percent of players smoked marijuana.

A CBS Sports report in April found that four out of 10 draft-eligible players this year failed at least one drug test at school and two of 10 failed more than once.

About 70 percent of prospects at the draft combine admitted to using marijuana, according to an ESPN report.

In 2009, roughly one-fourth of all football players admitted to marijuana use over the past year, which was the highest of any sport surveyed, in an NCAA report.

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