NHL alumni are emerging as influential voices in the push for cannabis reform, blending personal experience with organized advocacy, charity work, and education. While the league itself still treats cannabis cautiously, retired players are using their platforms to change how fans, policymakers, and even team doctors view the plant.
One of the most visible figures is former Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Riley Cote. After retiring, Cote founded the Hemp Heals Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that promotes hemp and cannabis as sustainable resources and part of a holistic wellness toolkit. The foundation hosts community events, including music festivals, to educate the public about hemp’s nutritional and environmental benefits and to highlight non-pharmaceutical approaches to pain and recovery.
Cote also co-founded Athletes for CARE (A4C), a nonprofit led by current and former professional athletes from multiple sports. A4C focuses on mental health, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and post-career wellness, and it openly supports research into cannabinoid therapies. The group runs education campaigns, connects athletes with resources, and works with policymakers to destigmatize cannabis as a legitimate medical option rather than a career-ending vice.
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Beyond advocacy organizations, NHL alumni are helping build the scientific evidence base that can drive reform. The NHL Alumni Association partnered with Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth and medical group Neeka Health on one of the first large clinical studies of CBD-based therapies in retired hockey players. The double-blind trial, involving roughly 100 alumni with post-concussion symptoms, is designed to see whether cannabinoids can ease depression, PTSD, and other long-term brain injuries. By volunteering as research subjects and publicly backing the project, retired players are turning their own health struggles into data that regulators and team doctors can’t easily ignore.
Detroit Red Wings legend Darren McCarty represents another side of this movement: advocacy through storytelling and brand building. McCarty has spoken openly about how cannabis helped him break cycles of alcohol and pill addiction, and he now uses that story as a centerpiece of his outreach. Working with a Michigan company, he launched the Darren McCarty Brand, a line of cannabis products themed around game moments like “Power Play” and “Intermission.” The brand ties into appearances, interviews, and community events framed around harm reduction, safer alternatives to opioids, and destigmatizing cannabis for pain and stress management.
Many hockey voices are also connected, directly or indirectly, to broader educational nonprofits such as the Realm of Caring Foundation. Realm of Caring provides free one-on-one guidance, maintains a large research library on cannabinoid therapies, and has helped support legislation and patient access in numerous states. Its mission—research, education, and affordability for patients using cannabis—is closely aligned with what athlete advocates are calling for: evidence-based policies and better information for both doctors and patients.
Taken together, these efforts show that NHL players are not just quietly consuming cannabis; they are shaping the narrative around it. Through charities like Hemp Heals, advocacy groups such as Athletes for CARE, research partnerships with the NHL Alumni Association, and education-driven nonprofits like Realm of Caring, hockey’s alumni are turning personal recovery into public advocacy—pushing the conversation toward health, science, and compassion rather than stigma.
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