How an NHL Enforcer Broke His Body -- and Turned to Psychedelics to Heal His Brain

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As an NHL “enforcer” — a player whose main role is to get into fights — Riley Cote took countless hits on the ice. Now he’s a new man, with a yoga-trimmed physique and an aura of ease — a transformation he credits largely to psychedelic drugs.

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Cote understands the hesitation surrounding these substances. While psychedelics fill him with “love,” “gratitude,” and a “connection to a higher energy source,” they are technically illegal throughout most of the U.S. Beyond that, the experience, whether good or bad, can be intense. Certain users experience not just so-called bad trips, but also psychotic breaks from reality.

At the same time, the discovery of CTE has created a crisis across all contact sports, linked to myriad symptoms, including memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse-control problems, aggression, depression, anxiety, suicidality, and progressive dementia.

The pair were at a cannabis-related conference several years ago when Cote waxed on about the mental-health benefits associated with taking both small and reality-shifting doses of psilocybin. Washington was surprised and started checking out Cote’s claims. “He was right,” he says. “He deserves a lot of credit for being in early on all plant medicines.”playing hockey, as a teenager, Cote discovered that a bong hit in the morning helped him maintain his focus through a long workout.

This specific result suggests an additional, perhaps unexpected use for psychedelics that might be uniquely valuable to athletes: “For a lot of athletes, and these could be amateurs or professionals,” says Cote, “everything you do from a very young age is geared toward achieving success in that sport. It becomes your identity.”

Snider was open to cannabis. She ran a skin-care company that made products for cancer patients and knew of the drug’s potential as medicine. She also helped get her father some cannabis for relief as he lay dying in 2016. But the evolution of Cote’s story has educated her, helping her see that psychedelics, too, bear importance not just in the treatment of brain injury and CTE, but also to help former athletes lead productive, enjoyable post-career lives.

biggest success stories might be retired NHL star and two-time Stanley Cup champion Daniel Carcillo. Nine years of pro hockey had left Carcillo suffering from light sensitivity, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, depression, slurred speech, suicidal ideation, and more. He was public about it, speaking out toward the end of his career, in 2015, about his concussion history, hockey’s disregard for players’ health, and his own failed attempts to find some solution in modern medicine.

 

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Riley talks about this in Ann's book too. (not out until October)

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