Some celebrities have been increasingly involved in the cannabis industry for a while now, one of them being Super Bowl champion Marvin Washington.

Former defensive end in the National Football League, Washington has showed his support in the industry for four years and is currently working with six companies.

When the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which is in charge of drug testing among Olympic athletes, removed CBD from its list of banned substances just a few weeks ago, Washington claimed it was “a huge announcement.”

“WADA has ruled that CBD is not a performance-enhancing substance. I know, eventually, sports leagues in America will reach the same conclusion. The first, biggest thing we need to do is get the federal prohibition off cannabis.”

While other cannabis compounds like THC remain prohibited, the WADA said CBD will be allowed starting in 2018.

According to Washington, CBD can be an alternative to opioids, a problem that affects many athletes in the U.S., and said it “can be the same thing as opiates, acting as an anti-inflammatory.”

“Once CBD gets widely accepted in the sports leagues, it’s going to become widely accepted in society,” he said.

He added head traumas are common in sports like football, soccer and lacrosse, and a substance like CBD would help with the issue as it acts as a neuroprotector and antioxidant for the brain.

“CBD can help these athletes feel better during their career, ultimately prolonging it. Then, when their career is over, they don’t leave the game with any addiction or health issues,” he added. “I’ve seen guys leave the game addicted to opiates, but I’ve never seen anybody leave the game addicted to cannabis.”

Currently, there aren’t many notable soccer players involved in cannabis-therapeutics advocacy, and Washington said the main issue comes down to education. Once they see how beneficial cannabis can be for American football and other sports, there will soon be more people from different leagues in Europe or Latin America stepping up.

“We definitely need to educate a high-profile soccer player to speak out about the different benefits of the cannabis plant. Once you educate them, you have a far-reaching audience because soccer is all over the world…and whole countries in Europe and Latin America are making cannabis legal and researching its benefits.”