Former Super Bowl Champion Jim McMahon Endorses Medical Marijuana; Find out why Here!

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Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon reveals medical marijuana helped his concussion and several post-football ailments.

"McMahon - one of the largest personalities in Bears history - has been suffering from a lot of health issues since he retired from football, including pain, depression, memory loss, early onset dementia and issues with his vision and speech associated with concussions he suffered during his playing days," according to a report by NBC Chicago.

The former Super Bowl Champion calls it a "godsend" because it helped him in managing his pain better than any medication he had tried before. He revealed that medical marijuana also kicked his narcotics addiction to the curb.

"Back then it was painkillers. I played my whole career on painkillers," he said, during an interview with Ron Magers for ABC7, as reported by National Daily Press.

McMahon recalled the past injuries he had in his 15-year football track record in the National Football League (NFL). He has had 18 surgeries and some of his back and neck pain is from the play against the Packers in 1986 with Charles Martin tackling him to the ground. His injuries have made him take prescription narcotics to treat his pain.

McMahon drove from Illinois to Arizona to get his medical marijuana license to treat arthritis and chronic pain. He prefers to smoke the medical cannabis but he doesn't use it all day.

"I don't smoke all day long you know. It's usually in the morning. Mornings are rough trying to get up out of bed," McMahon said. "It's been quite a few years so I don't feel it impairs me at all. I can still function, still talk to people, do whatever I got to do."

He added that using it has lesser side effects.

"It's a lot easier on my body and I can get through the day without a problem. It doesn't have any side effect. You don't get constipated, you don't get woozy and feeling weird. For me, it works."

According to a report by Chicago Tribune, McMahon made an appearance this week at the Bears 30th Super Bowl victory anniversary. He was also in ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary about the team which cited his health problems. The ex-Bears quarterback is part of the class-action lawsuit against the NFL for negligence and misconduct in handling concussions after his retirement in 1997.