By Robert Bicknell

US TV star Roseanne Barr made some highly racist and offensive remarks in a tweet, then claimed it was because of the sleeping pill “Ambien”. Granted, that pill has been known to make people who take it and stay awake a little zombie-like.

However, the maker of Ambien issued a statement that “racism is not one of the side effects”. Touche.

Tiger Woods fell asleep behind the wheel of his car and blamed it on different pain medications he was taking after his back surgery. Tiger had Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien and THC in his system.

Hydrocodone (a generic form of Vicodin) and Hydromorphone (more commonly referred to as Dilaudid), are painkillers; Alprazolam (Xanax) and Zolpidem (Ambien) are both sleep aids.

Delta-9 carboxy THC is the primary compound in marijuana and is reputed to be an excellent painkiller and anti-inflammatory.

 Regardless of the reason for taking it, Tiger had no business being behind the wheel of a car and he got busted for it.

WWE wrestlers had a big problem with a muscle relaxer called “Soma” (carisoprodol), which has been banned by the WWE for quite a while now and other painkillers. Guys were dropping dead at 40 years old.

You know there is a problem when the parent company offers a free treatment program for its current and ex-employees. While it’s admirable that they took the initiative and set up the programme, it also shows that professional sports has a major problem with opiods.

Just like America in general.

Professional golf also has a problem with prescription drugs, including painkillers, muscle relaxants, performance enhancing drugs and, worst of all, beta blockers which can stop your heart.

The reason for the problem is no secret. As athletes get bigger, stronger and faster they are pushing their bodies to the physical limits and without a lot of down time.

Tiger Woods changed the face of professional golf. Before him, Gary Player was probably the only guy to really take physical fitness seriously. Tiger changed all that by coming out looking like a Navy Seal with wide shoulders, a tapered V-shape upper body and biceps that could lift a tank.

We can only guess if Tiger used PED’s during the off-season, but there is no way to be sure as he wasn’t drug tested, although he was in favour of testing on the Tour.

Old school golf used to say that weightlifting was bad for golf as you would become muscle-bound and unable to swing correctly. Tiger Woods proved everyone wrong, so not more and more players are hitting the gym religiously.

The PGA Tour even has a fitness trailer which follows the players around to the events. It’s got weights, stationary bicycles and treatment areas.

But again, with all this conditioning and improvements in physiques, there will be consequences in terms of more injuries. The human body can take a lot of punishment (as anyone who went through military boot camp will tell you) but there does reach a limit when the machine breaks down.

The faster and harder the machine works, the more severe the breakdown. Think about race car engines. They have to change the engine and rebuild it after every race.

So, there will be continuing injury problems in professional sports, including golf and we need to consider different treatment routes.

My reason for mentioning it is my continued foot problem - Arthritis (aka no cartilage in the joints). There are days when just walking is painful, not to mention trying to play golf.

Nevertheless, I refuse to take any opioid-based painkillers because I have seen what they can do to people and I am already strange enough without some substance sending me off the deep end.

I would love to try some cannabis-based treatments. No, not the THC heavy ones which get you high, but rather the oil and creams that you rub into the pain area.

CBD is the abbreviation for cannabidiol, the cannabinoid second only to THC when it comes to average volume. Recently, research has shown CBD to have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-anxiety properties without the psychoactive effects (the “high” or “stoned” feeling) that THC provides.

I can only hope Viet Nam eventually makes this type of treatment legal soon because the pain is getting intolerable… VNS