Former NFL player and Super Bowl champion Jim McMahon says he used medical marijuana to treat a pain pill addiction after he suffered head trauma. The ex-Chicago Bears quarterback who experiences bad headaches, memory and vision loss, and depression calls medical pot a "godsend" that relived his pain.  56-year-old McMahon also has early dementia.  

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McMahon had a superlative 15-year NFL career. He also played for four other NFL teams including the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Diego Chargers, according to Newsmax.

However, McMahon is most famous for leading the Bears to a 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 20. He became the first quarterback to rush for two touchdowns in the championship game.

McMahon suffered multiple concussions and a broken neck after hundreds of hard tackles. He claims medical cannabis broke his prescription painkiller addiction.

Before he started using medicinal "weed" McMahon was taking several painkillers daily. That included 100 Percocet pills per month.

McMahon has described his cannabis treatments as more effective and safer than pharmaceutical pills. He claims the painkillers were causing more harm than help.

The ex-Bears player explained that he started taking prescription meds during his football career. They helped to ease the pain caused by 18 surgeries.

This week McMahon was in Chicago to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Chicago Bears' win in Super Bowl XX.

McMahon explained that he usually just smokes pot in the morning when it is difficult for him to get out of bed due to the pain. He pointed out that the drug does not prevent him from doing his day-to-day activities such as talking to people, and has no side effects such as dizziness and digestion problems caused by prescription painkillers.

In a Chicago Tribune photo McMahon is seen smoking a marijuana joint while visiting Chicago during the out-of-state visit. However, the newspaper points out that that transporting pot across state lines is a federal crime.

McMahon is qualified to legally use medical marijuana in his home state of Arizona, which legalized medical pot in 2010. However, the ex-NFL player admits that he has traveled with the herbal drug, according to Chicago Tribune.

Here's a report about treating pain with medical marijuana: