Ricky Williams is a professional football player who played 11 seasons in the NFL and one season in the Canadian Football League before finally ending his career in 2011.

Dubbed the face of cannabis in the NFL, Ricky Williams was suspended multiple times for marijuana use. The series of substance abuse violations made him decide to finally quit and enjoy his retirement traveling the world as a healer and entrepreneur.

Wiliams’ History with Weed

Ricky Williams is known as the weed guy in the NFL. His love for cannabis led to hefty fines, a full-season suspension in 2006, and an outrageous number of drug tests.

Williams said that he first smoked weed in high school but did not appreciate weed or cannabis products until his senior year. Years after that first experience, he turned to cannabis when he went through a difficult time after he broke up with his ex.

Smoking weed made him sleep soundly after weeks spent obsessing about his ex. The relief and the power to look at the situation differently made him change his mind about weed.

He started consuming weed regularly in 1999 when he was drafted fifth by the New Orleans Saints. During his third season in 2001, he fractured a rib; the team doctors prescribed him an anti-inflammatory drug, Indocin, causing constipation, which was as painful as the injury itself. Only in regular weed smoking did he find relief that painkillers failed to do.

He first failed his drug test in May 2002, then a series of failed tests after that. Williams instantly became the bad buy. He was judged and everyone thought he quit football to smoke pot.

How Weed Changed His Life

Every story written about Ricky Williams mentioned failed tests. He was mocked as an addict, which hurt his reputation, but he remained an advocate for cannabis use.

Williams explained that he started to see the benefits of weed and cannabis products in 2002 when he failed a drug test. When he stopped smoking, he noticed that he was taking more painkillers and became more anxious. But smoking weed made him calmer and helped him recover faster. Cannabis helped him deal with his anxiety issues and got him thinking differently and understanding himself better.

Smoking pot allowed Williams to be more in touch with his feelings which made him less anxious. Instead of taking the medical or pharmaceutical route while suffering from a social anxiety disorder or other mental issues, cannabis helped him identify the internal root of those issues. Whether people agree or not, cannabis use made him see life from a different perspective and improved his quality of life. He further commented that he would not have won the 1998 Heisman Trophy or played professional football for 11 seasons without cannabis.

He may be good at football, but Williams followed a different path by launching his own company, the Real Wellness by Ricky Williams.