Why doesn’t the NFL take marijuana busts more seriously?

Pittsburgh Steelers running backs Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount—and, yes, it will be difficult to avoid the use of “blunt” jokes, but that is the goal—were charged with marijuana possession during a traffic stop Wednesday and both played in Thursday’s preseason game in Philadelphia.

That has led many to question whether the NFL takes the situation seriously enough.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says he met with the players Thursday morning, according to ESPN.com, and proceeded with a “business as usual” approach with Bell and Blount because the Steelers are still a work in progress offensively and Bell and Blount are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on the Pittsburgh depth chart at running back.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the NFL doesn’t take marijuana related arrests seriously. What it does mean, however, is that there are protocols in place to deal with those incidents.

The NFL is expected to review the incident and it already has a substance abuse policy in place, which means the treatment of the players is subject to the collectively bargained policy.

It’s possible Tomlin wanted to suspend Bell and Blount right away. It’s possible Tomlin didn’t give a rip about the incident, other than the sheer Beavis and Butthead stupidity of getting busted less than two hours before your team is getting ready to fly out for a road game.

According to the league’s substance abuse policy, any player is subject for entrance into the program based on three conditions—a positive test result for a recreational substance, behavior—including an arrest related to the misuse of substances of abuse—or self-referral.

Now, whether Bell proved himself to not be a rocket scientist by telling officers, “I didn’t know you could get a DUI for being high,” also isn’t the issue.

Neither Bell nor Blount is known to be in the substance abuse program, which doesn’t mean they aren’t—the initial entrance into the program is confidential and will remain so as long as there isn’t another violation of the policy.

Commissioner Roger Goodell opened the door for this type of scrutiny, however, when he handed down a two-game suspension to Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice for his well-publicized incident in Atlantic City, N.J., that ended up with him dragging his unconscious then-fiance out of an elevator and both members of the couple were charged with domestic assault.

The suspensions and other punishments that are being brought down under the substance abuse policy are part of the policy and are not subject to interpretation or modification by the commissioner, unless the penalty is appealed.

So if it seems stupid that Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater will miss twice as much game action as Rice—the first four games of the season for an alcohol-related violation of the substance abuse policy that occurred following his entry into the league’s program after an August 2011 DUI arrest—it’s understandable.

And the easiest thing to do is to sit atop an ivory tower and chastise the NFL for being inconsistent and wrong-headed in its approach to punishment for off-field behavior.

There are many who would argue that marijuana shouldn’t even be included on the list of substances of abuse. After all, it’s legal in two states already (Colorado and Washington) and there are movements afoot in other states to do the same.

But to say the NFL doesn’t take marijuana busts seriously because Bell and Blount were allowed to play a day after being charged with misdemeanor possession is simply incorrect.

The U.S. Constitution includes the provisions of the Fifth Amendment, the right to due process. NFL players are afforded that same right under the substance abuse policy.

The NFL will address Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount at some point in the not-too-distant future, so those fans of a more puritanical bent can relax. If they are in the program, they’ll receive some sort of suspension.

If not, they’ll be subject to more frequent testing for substances of abuse and to suspension for a second violation of the policy.

That doesn’t sound like a league that doesn’t care enough about marijuana busts.