A survey of NFL players shows that nearly two-thirds of them feel the use of chemical painkillers would be reduced if the league approved marijuana for the same use.

Marijuana is legal in 25 states and Washington, D.C., for medicinal purposes but remains one of eight drugs banned under the NFL's policy and program on substances of abuse. 

ESPN.com's NFL Nation and ESPN The Magazine surveyed 226 players, asking them questions on the state of pain treatment in the league. 

In the survey, 61 percent of players said they believed fewer players would take pain-killing shots such as Toradol if marijuana were a legal option. Toradol is the most common anti-inflammatory taken by NFL players, and 64 percent of the survey's respondents said they had taken an injection of it or another pain killer.

Marijuana has fewer known side effects than Toradol.