Marijuana is now legal in 20 states. And three major professional sports leagues.
The NBA suspended drug testing for marijuana when players returned to play in the Orlando “bubble” for the completion of the 2019-20 season and playoff. At the time, commissioner Adam Silver said, “We decided that given all the pressures and stress that players were under, that we didn’t need to act as Big Brother right now,” He added, “I think society’s views around marijuana has changed to a certain extent.
Reportedly, the players association and league were interested in creating medical exceptions for cannabis use, but were hesitant to defy federal law, especially with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in office. Former players association head Michelle Roberts said she had to “protect our players from a crazed attorney general who says he will prosecute violations of the law involving marijuana.”
But the reversal comes too late for some players who were victimized by the league’s former draconian punishments for cannabis. Larry Sanders of the Milwaukee Bucks was suspended indefinitely after multiple failed drug tests (at least four) in the 2014-15 season, and ended up leaving the sport entirely.
Sanders used marijuana to deal with anxiety and pain management, preferring it to opioid painkillers like Vicodin. But the league simply didn’t have an infrastructure for dealing with mental health issues, and compounded that with a punitive attitude toward weed.
The NBA added marijuana to its list of banned substances in 1999, after a number of high-profile players got marijuana possession charges . In hindsight, the charges look laughably minor – for one of the cases Chris Webber was fined $560.
For the league, players using cannabis is likely preferable to players drinking alcohol after games, at least in terms of trouble. You’re far more likely to see a drunken 2 AM brawl at a club than a fight over a game of Mario Kart in someone’s hotel room.
Now that society’s attitude toward marijuana has changed, so has the league’s policy, finally. Still, some players who lost game checks to pot suspensions want a refund.
