AFL premiership-winning coach Chris Scott has joined an elite group of Australian sporting stars on a journey to raise awareness of the potential life-changing effects of medicinal cannabis.
Following his 2022 premiership victory with Geelong, Scott will join fellow AFL coaching greats Alastair Clarkson, John Longmire and Damien Hardwick in this alternative experiment with sports science company Levin Health.
The coaching quartet are looking to break the stigma behind medical marijuana, and highlight it's potential as a treatment option for many people suffering from various health conditions, physical and mental.
Clarkson joined Levin Health in an advisory role in 2021, and outlined his reasons in a company statement at the time.
"Regardless of whether it's amateur or professional, AFL can be a brutal contact sport," the statement reads.
"Chronic pain and challenges associated with concussion are ongoing side-effects for many ex-AFL players and often for their friends in the wider community.
"I know the doctors Levin Health are working with at La Trobe University really well and I trust them. Their involvement underpins the work Levin Health is doing so I'm happy to help where I can."
It is also well reported that Richmond coachย Hardwick uses medicinal cannabis to help treat his chronic pain from a bike-riding accident more than 10 years ago. He joined the company earlier this year.
โI've tried everything to help with my pain, mainly anti-inflammatories and heavy pain-killers. While these helped to some degree, I didn't like the side effects that came with them,โ Hardwick revealed in a company statement.
โ[As a] Levin Health shareholder, I'm very happy to help [them] shine a light on the huge potential medicinal cannabis may have to help people live their life to the fullest.
โOne of the reasons I'm an investor is because I trust the research they're doing.โ
Scott becomes the latest to join the movement and adds to a stellar lineup of Australian sporting stars, including Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Johns, Lauren Jackson, Damien Oliver, James Brayshaw and Trent Robinson.
In his own company statement, he outlined his reasons and motivations for joining the company.
โI invested in Levin Health after becoming interested in the medicinal cannabis sector and what the findings could mean for professional athletes. Levin Health is investing in research at La Trobe University which is important,โ said Scott.
โLauren Jackson's circumstance has intrigued me and I'm interested to learn more about what implications her experience will have for athletes in the future.โ
The company plans to conduct research on the potential effects cannabis may have as a therapy for long-term concussion; a glaring issue in the world of contact sport.
In the meantime, Scott, Hardwick, Longmire and Clarkson will enjoy some time off at the off-season Christmas break before launching into the 2023 season.
