NBA Will Allow Players To Use Cannabis, Eliminating Random THC Drug Tests
Once approved, the agreement will last for seven years.
The NBA will no longer randomly test its players for cannabis as part of a deal reached between the league and the National Basketball Players Association.
The collective bargaining agreement still needs to be ratified by players and team governors for the terms to come into effect. Once approved, it will last for seven years. According to The Athletic, the agreement will also allow players to invest in NBA and WNBA teams, and promote and/or invest in sports betting firms and cannabis companies.
“Since day one, the goal of the NBPA in this negotiation was to protect our players, enrich their lives on and off the court, and establish a framework that recognizes our players as true partners with the governors in both the NBA and the business world at large,” Tamika Tremaglio, executive director of the NBPA, tweeted.
In an April 1 tweet announcing the deal, the National Basketball Players Association said that “specific details will be made available once a term sheet is finalized.”
The NBA has temporarily suspended random cannabis testing for the past three seasons, but this move will more formally codify the end of such testing.
“We decided that, given all the things that were happening in society, given all the pressures and stress that players were under, that we didn’t need to act as Big Brother right now,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told NBC when the testing was first suspended in 2020. “I think society’s views around marijuana has changed to a certain extent.”
Prominent players such as Kevin Durant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Allen Iverson have been vocal about their cannabis use and have called for its legalization, per Insider.