Reggie Smith, is a Chicago-area businessman, speaker, and retired NFL player. He’s also a former national board member[ and Chicago chapter vice president of the National Football League Players Association. He’s a business development executive for Primus, Inc. who started looking into CBD as a possible business venture. Instead, what he found along the way is that CBD has helped to relieve pain way better than over-the-counter pain relievers.
How did you discover CBD?
In June of last year, I tried CBD for the first time with drops and gummies. I’m a guy who takes Advil, Ibuprofen, and Aleve. In just one month, I took all of the other pills off of the table nearly entirely. I used to take about five or six pain pills every day for inflammation in my knees, elbows, and hands. The pain comes from the rigors of playing a contact sport.
Why do you believe that so many professional ballplayers in multiple sports have embraced cannabis and CBD?
I retired from the NFL at the age of 29 in 1989. I had a full knee replacement at age 45. Anybody who plays professionally and in college knows that after you play you have pains and injuries that will be with you for a lifetime. As you age it begins to catch up with you. I’ve never been a cannabis user. I’m from the generation where it was always looked at it as a bad thing. And because of the way I was raised and the environment that I grew up in, it took me a while to even try a CBD oil.
How long have you used CBD?
From the CBD realm, I’m a neophyte. I’ve been using it for less than a year, but my relief from pain has been substantial in a short period of time.
I believe that it’s impactful. Anybody playing a contact sport, whether they admit it or not is in pain. It’s impossible to play a number of years and be healthy. They will be in pain for the rest of their days.
Only technology and bank accounts have changed since when I was playing. But the impact on the body and the spirit has not changed. In my opinion, pain is a great equalizer. You want to do things but pain puts you in a different mindset. It puts you on a different path. It stops you from reaching your full potential. Pain can be the boss and stay the boss.
Have you invested in the cannabis or CBD industries?
My first interest in CBD was from a business perspective. I’ve been reading about the industry and looking at the opportunities for a while now. Anything that has a growth perspective of 22 to 25 percent in the next five years is something I want to investigate.
As an entrepreneur, I’ve always got something going. That spirit never leaves. From a business perspective, it was natural for me to look at the industry. Some people talk about being on the tail end, but the industry is still in its infancy. It’s nowhere near saturation.
