If former NBA commissioner David Stern had his way, players in the league would be able to use medical marijuana.
In an interview with 16-year NBA veteran Al Harrington, as part of an Uninterrupted documentary, former NBA commissioner David Stern said that he believes the NBA—and all professional sports leagues—should reverse their policies on marijuana.
“I’m now at the point where, personally, I think [marijuana] probably should be removed from the ban list. “I think there is universal agreement that marijuana for medical purposes should be completely legal.”
Stern didn’t stop there, though. Harrington asked him for his thoughts on players using the drug recreationally, specifically those players who live in states, like Colorado, where recreational marijuana use is legal.
“I think we have to change the Collective Bargaining Agreement and let you do what is legal in your state. If marijuana is now in the process of being legalized, I think you should be allowed to do what’s legal in your state.”
Harrington, who played for seven teams, including the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, is now a marijuana entrepreneur. He believes that over 70 percent of athletes in major sports smoke weed. Stern, who was NBA commissioner from 1984-2014, was behind the policy that took a tougher stance on drugs.
Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who for years was Stern’s right-hand man, told Portland’s C.J. McCollum in a July interview with the Players’ Tribune, that the league has no plans to change its marijuana policy.