Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson Said He Smoked Weed Before Some Games

Calvin Johnson on the St. Brown Podcast

Former Detroit Lions wide receiver and Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson says he smoked weed as a player, and in the latter part of his career he was sometimes high during games to get through physical and mental challenges.

“I probably did it a handful of times throughout my career” before games, he said on The St. Brown Podcast with Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and his brother, Equanimeous.

“The funny thing is," he said about getting high before a game, "more times than not I had a good game. I feel like I’ve never had a bad game — never.”

Johnson, 40, said the Lions periodically tested for drugs, but he knew when to lay off.

“I was very particular about when and how much I did smoke,” he said.

Johnson, who grew up in Georgia, said he was around weed in junior high and high school, but never touched it, knowing his mother would “beat the black off” of him if he smoked.

He said that when he went to Georgia Tech, he started smoking.

He is now in the cannabis business with a company he co-founded, Primitive, with locations in Webberville, Mich., and Boston.

He said there are many healing components to weed, including shrinking tumors.