FORMER COWBOY STEPNOSKI NOW ADVOCATING MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

DALLAS - Former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Mark Stepnoski
considers himself living proof that long-held beliefs about marijuana
are wrong.

He has smoked pot for about 20 years, so, according to opponents of
the drug, he should be a slothful burnout with blackened lungs, a bit
of a dim bulb after baking so many brain cells.

Yet Stepnoski is articulate and remains in top physical condition a
year after finishing a 13-year run as one of the NFL's top centers -
all while regularly smoking marijuana.

He feels so strongly that purported facts about marijuana are myths
that he's dedicated his post-playing days to setting the record straight.

Stepnoski, 36, recently "came out" as a weed smoker when he took the
volunteer position as president of the Texas chapter of the National
Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws. He's bankrolling NORML's
lobbyist in Austin and has joined the organization's national advisory
board.

"Marijuana doesn't prevent you from going out and accomplishing what
you want to," he said. "Since I was a kid, I wanted to play in the
NFL, I wanted to be as good as I could, I wanted to play on a winning
team, I wanted to play professional football. Even though I
occasionally used marijuana, it never prevented me from ever attaining
those goals."

Stepnoski knew how to avoid failing NFL-mandated drug tests. And
although he saw drugs ruin the lives and careers Cowboys teammates, he
remains convinced that marijuana used responsibly is no worse than
alcohol.

So while he doesn't want children to use drugs, he believes everyone
deserves to know the facts about marijuana.

"We should be truthful to kids and educate them," Stepnoski
said.

Among the many areas where Stepnoski and NORML disagree with the
government are whether money is wasted enforcing marijuana laws,
causes long-term health problems and leads to other drug use.

"It's really kind of sad that someone who could use his role as a role
model for young children chooses not to use it constructively, but to
use it for something that has caused devastation for families
throughout this country," said Jennifer de Vallance, spokeswoman for
the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Stepnoski began researching marijuana's effects shortly after he
started lighting up during his high school days in Erie, Pa.

"I was serious about training and diet and everything else," he said.
"That's one of the reasons I looked into marijuana so much, because I
would use it and it didn't seem to have a negative affect."

He says it never did. Not once does he recall shortness of breath
because of damaged lungs, or lethargy from what drug opponents call
"amotivational syndrome."

"I was in the best shape of any offensive lineman we had on the team,"
said Stepnoski, who won two Super Bowls, made the Pro Bowl five times
and helped clear the way for many of Emmitt Smith's NFL-record 17,162
rushing yards.

"As far as lethargy, amotivational syndrome is a myth. You can't play
in the NFL for 13 years if you have amotivational syndrome. You just
can't do it."

Which begs the question, how many others do it?

Stepnoski, who played nine seasons with the Cowboys and four with
Houston/Tennessee, passes on that one.

"If you accept the fact that a sports team is a microcosm of society,
then yes drug use exists," he said. "So does alcohol and tobacco use."

The NFL tests players with a clean record only once a year - and
always during the three months before the season. Stepnoski said that
made passing the tests a breeze.

"You just quit until you take the test and that's it, you're done," he
said. "It wasn't hard to quit because it's not addictive. I didn't
cheat. I went in and took the test. I was by the book, so people
shouldn't get mad and think I faked somebody out."

Drug use among some of Stepnoski's Dallas teammates has been
well-documented. The extreme cases include fellow linemen Mark Tuinei
dying from an overdose in 1999, and Nate Newton recently being
incarcerated after convictions of transporting large amounts of marijuana.

Stepnoski said it's not fair to lump him in with them.

Several prominent teammates from the 1990s Cowboys declined to discuss
Stepnoski's new role or didn't return calls seeking comment.

They have talked to Stepnoski, though, and he says the feedback has
been positive.

"I've not had one guy be critical of what I'm doing," he said. "I'm
sure some of them may feel that way, but just don't voice their opinions."

The NFL had no comment either, except to stand behind its testing
policy.

"It's somewhat more random than knowing the exact date," league
spokesman Greg Aiello said. "We have the strongest and most
comprehensive drug policy in sports."

Stepnoski got started with NORML during his playing days by making
donations to receive literature. He was asked to be more involved, but
knew it was a bad idea.

"It would have been such a huge headache for me and for my teammates
and my coaches that I'd have to be crazy to do it," said Stepnoski,
who agreed to step up his involvement after the 2001 season.

While legalization is the ultimate goal, NORML's focus in Texas is
persuading the Legislature to downgrade possession from a Class B to a
Class C misdemeanor. That would make it about as damaging legally as a
speeding ticket.

Measures to legalize marijuana for medical reasons didn't even get out
of committee for a full vote in the Texas House the past two sessions.
And voters in November defeated marijuana law reform measures in
Nevada, South Dakota and Arizona.

Even so, Stepnoski said he's confident.

"I knew this was going to be rough waters occasionally, at least
publicly," he said. "But again, I don't feel deterred because I have
the truth on my side."

ON THE NET

Texas NORML: www.normltexas.org

NORML: www.norml.org