By Blake Haas

NORMAL – Despite the legalization of marijuana in Illinois, one local Athletic Director is sharing how the new legislation will impact Illinois State University athletes.

Speaking with WJBC’s Scott Miller and Katherine Murphy, ISU AD Larry Lyons said before student-athletes put on a Redbird jersey, there will be conversations with administration.

“The quick response is we are going to have to do some really good education and having some pretty frank conversations with our student-athletes,” said Lyons. “If I understand the law, if you’re under 21, it’s not legal for you, which that certainly helps most of our student-athletes out. Obviously, we have the NCAA and Federal laws to deal with, but it will be an education process, and we will hit that pretty hard.

Lyons added that what concerns him the most is edibles, which are food products infused with marijuana.

“The new normal of legal recreational marijuana, I think that everybody is going to have to adjust to it in some way,” said Lyons. “I’m most concerned about the edibles, accessible they are going to be, how do you regulate the dose or how strong it is.

I think that society is going to have to deal with this, not just us and college athletics,” said Lyons. “To me, that opens up a whole new spectrum that we are going to have to get used to dealing with.”

Although marijuana is legal for persons age 21 and over, ISU student-athletes are held to a zero-tolerance policy. Additionally, athletes are subjected to random drug testing.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].