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Painkiller addiction prolific amongst players according to former Super Rugby halfback

Former Blues halfback Grayson Hart. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

NZ Herald

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A former Super Rugby star has claimed the number of players who are addicted to pain killers has become an “epidemic”.

Grayson Hart, who played sporadically for the Blues and Waratahs between 2008 and 2013, recounted his story of being prescribed Tramadol for an injury which quickly led to addiction.

“It got pretty bad, yeah,” Hart told Stuff.

“It even became a bit of a fun thing to do, pop a few and kick back on the couch and get a bit of a buzz.”

However, Hart said that he wasn’t alone and claimed pain-killers are being given out to athletes “like lollies”.

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“Honestly I wasn’t too bad compared to some guys, I was definitely on the road to a dark place though. It’s really somewhat of an epidemic. I knew that, so (I) started looking for an alternative.”

After admitting to himself that he had become addicted to prescription pills, Hart found that alternative pain solution in CBD oil – another highly restricted, prescription-only drug – and convinced a number of former All Blacks to try it too.

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Now, the likes of Liam Messam, Jerome Kaino, Colin Slade and Victor Vito all endorse a CBD oil product that Hart has commercialised in the UK.

https://twitter.com/puresportcbd/status/1187776156428312577

CBD oil is legal under the World Anti-Doping Agency laws, but is still a controlled substance in both New Zealand and the UK.

“I started reading a bunch of stuff from elite athletes around the world, like Nate Diaz (UFC) and guys in the NFL who swore by the stuff,” Hart said.

“CBD, when done right, is a safe alternative to the drugs athletes are traditionally filled with. That stuff is not good and I have seen the dark side of it.”

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Now playing in the UK’s RFU Championship for the Bedford Blues, Hart says CBD oil’s effectiveness in treating his pain and helping with recovery has been life-changing.

“My inflammation went way down and my sleep improved out of sight,” he said.

“I didn’t feel anymore like I needed painkillers which was a first in I don’t know how long.”

This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission.

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Flankly 2 hours ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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