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Former Bear Jim McMahon Credits Medical Marijuana For Kicking Dependence On Pain Pills

(CBS) Former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon credits medical marijuana for helping him kick his dependence on pain pills, he said during an interview with the Chicago Tribune.

McMahon directed the 1985 Bears to a Super Bowl title, but he's a bevy of health issues since retiring following a career in which he had multiple concussions. He currently suffers from early onset dementia and deals with depression, headaches and much more. McMahon had been taking around 100 Percocet pills a month for pain, the Tribune reported, before he ditched those with the help of medical marijuana.

"They were doing more harm than good," he told the Tribune. "This medical marijuana has been a godsend. It relieves me of the pain — or thinking about it, anyway."

McMahon credits medical marijuana for taking his pain away and keeping his head clear, as opposed to having to deal with the "fuzziness" that comes with pain pills, the Tribune reported.

Illinois law currently doesn't permit medical marijuana for pain, though Gov. Bruce Rauner is reconsidering that stance. McMahon got his medical marijuana in Arizona, where he resides, the Tribune reported.

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