Calvin Johnson made a recent appearance on Amon-Ra St. Brown’s podcast, and the Detroit Lions legend covered a handful of topics, including the use of marijuana during his playing days.
Johnson, who retired in March 2016, said he smoked weed throughout his career. Asked if ever did it before playing in a game, Johnson said “a handful of times.” The legendary receiver explained that used marijuana to cope with pain, especially toward the back end of his career.
“There’s points in times … I’d be on the way to that stadium, I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know how I’m gonna make it today.’ I probably did it a handful of times throughout my career,” Johnson said during Wednesday’s episode. “The funny thing is more times than not, I had a good game, too. I never had a bad game.”
Johnson didn’t specify which games he played in after smoking, though he clarified it was contests played in Detroit, rather than on the road. Johnson spent nine seasons with the Lions, catching 731 passes for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns. He still holds the NFL record for most receiving yards in a season, at 1,964 (2012). Others have come close — former Los Angeles Rams standout Cooper Kupp had 1,947 yards in 2021, and Seattle Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 1,793 this season — but no one has been able to catch Johnson’s single-season total.
A member of the Pride of the Lions and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Johnson co-founded (along with former Lions offensive guard Rob Sims) a cannabis research company named Primitiv. According to the company’s website, “Primitiv was born from a shared vision to unlock the healing potential of cannabis.”
Johnson, 40, was only 30 years old when he retired from professional football. He holds franchise records for targets (1,312), receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, as well as receiving yards per game (86.1).
rsilva@detroitnews.com
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