This past Wednesday, Canada became the largest country in the world to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. This means it will be available under law in seven more NHL cities, in addition to Denver’s Colorado Avalanche NHL team. This step forward can now help those who believe in the use of marijuana as a form of treatment for healing options.

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Marijuana can be detected in a person’s system for more than 30 days, and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency without a specific therapeutic use which provides exemption. The NHL and its players association plan to make no changes to their joint drug-testing policy, under which players are not directly punished for positive marijuana tests.

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It is the most lenient approach to cannabis by any major North American professional sports league. The NFL and NBA suspend their players for marijuana use. The MLB’s policy is a bit more relaxed. Their method is to fine players for multiple accounts of marijuana violations, but only a significantly high amount of the drug found in MLB players during testing can trigger a referral to behavioral health program doctors.

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More than two dozen states in the U.S. allow the use of marijuana for a variety of ailments, but the federal government has still not approved it for any medical use. There are many players who have already done research into the benefits of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) oils. With clear curiosity from players, it is wondered about whether marijuana could one day replace or limit painkillers like oxycodone, even if players are not ready to make that leap completely.

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The possibility of cannabis use in other professional sports teams in Canada such as the NBA’s Toronto Raptors or the MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays is not likely because of the stricter regulations placed on those sports.

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Given the legalization, the NHL opted for education over policy changes. “What we feel was an important element is at least educating the players better on the current marijuana landscape, both from a legal and illegal perspective and what’s permitted and not permitted,” said Bill Daly, Deputy Commissioner of the NHL, according to a CBSSports.com article. “But also: ‘What are the products out there?’ because there’s probably publicly a great misconception of what marijuana is, how it’s used [and] what it’s used for to what the reality is.”

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Retired NHL veteran Riley Cote has been a major proponent of cannabis and its oils as an alternative to more addictive drugs. “I started noticing some therapeutic benefits,” Cote said per the Associated Press. “It helped me sleep, helped with my anxiety and general well-being.”

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Players who are not educated yet about marijuana use are willing to ask around about potential benefits as more studies are being done and positive results are being shown. For now, marijuana is technically still a banned substance in most leagues, but that could easily change.