According to reports, the National Basketball Association (NBA), will remove marijuana from its banned substances list and won’t drug test players for it in a new collective bargaining agreement that lasts seven years.
Shams Charania, of The Athletic and Stadium first reported the news on Saturday. It officially codified the league’s decision to suspend temporarily cannabis testing during the previous three seasons.
Sources: The new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which covers seven years, will allow NBA players to smoke marijuana. It has been removed from the antidrug testing program. This was a process that started in 2019-20 season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 1, 2023
In late 2020 , NBA Commissioner Adam Silver indicated that the policy might eventually be permanent. This was after the league had initially suspended cannabis testing as players participated in quarantined “bubbles” in Orlando during the coronavirus pandemic.
He stated that he and his team decided, “given all the things happening in society, given the stress that players were experiencing, that we didn’t need to act like Big Brother right now.” “I believe society’s view of marijuana has changed to some extent.”
The commissioner stated that the league will not mandate blanket testing but instead reach out to those with signs of problem dependency and not those who “use marijuana casually.”
Charania stated that “NBA players won’t be banned from marijuana use under the new seven year Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
He reported that the anti-drug testing program has been rescinded, which was a process that started in 2019-20 season.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association had announced on Saturday that they had reached a tentative agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. However, details will not be released until a term sheet has been finalized.
The following has just been released: pic.twitter.com/Tf8NDvi0TE
NBA Communications (@NBAPR April 1, 2023
Michele Roberts (former head of the National Basketball Players Association, NBPA), who joined Cresco Labs‘s board in 2020, had previously predicted that a formal revision to codify the policy might be made soon.
It was announced in 2021 that Weedmaps , an online marijuana marketplace, will team up with NBA star Kevin Durant to form a multiyear partnership. This partnership aims to de-stigmatize cannabis and highlight the potential value of the plant for “athlete wellbeing and recovery.”
The NBA’s latest action comes as the national debate continues about cannabis testing policies. This issue was highlighted after Sha’Carri Richardson was banned from the Olympics for having a positive THC test.
According to the runner, she would feel “blessed” and proud if the attention to her case would result in a policy change for other runners. The case was also discussed by President Joe Biden and the White House. They suggested that the ban on marijuana should “remain in place of the rules.”
The World Anti-Doping Agency, (WADA), decided to keep cannabis on the banned substances list for international athletes last year. This was after a scientific review that found that cannabis use violates the spirit of the sport.
MLB is one of the most innovative professional sports leagues in regards to cannabis policy. Recently, a CBD company was signed to be the league’s first ever cannabis sponsor . Plans are to promote the company at the upcoming World Series.
This decision was made four months after it became known that MLB had allowed baseball teams to sell sponsorships for cannabis companies who market CBD products.
MLB stands out from other professional sports leagues in being more open to changing marijuana policy. It clarified, for example, in a 2020 memo, that players won’t face any penalties for using marijuana when they’re not working. However, they can’t be sponsored personally by a marijuana company nor hold investments in the industry.
Also, the league stated that NSF International was collaborating with it to analyze and certify legal, contaminant free CBD products so teams can store them on their premises.
This update was based on MLB’s 2019 decision to remove marijuana from its league’s banned substances list. Players who had tested positive for THC were required to undergo mandatory treatment. Failure to comply could result in a fine up to $35,000. This penalty has been eliminated.
As laws change and medical applications become more accepted, a number of athletic governance organizations have relaxed their rules regarding cannabinoids.
UFC stated in 2021 that they will no longer punish fighters for positive marijuana tests.
Separately, NCAA student athletes would not lose eligibility to play if they have a positive marijuana test according to rules that were recommended last year by a key committee.
The NFL’s drug-testing policy has been changed in 2020 by a collective bargaining agreement.
Under a collective bargaining agreement, NFL players are no longer subject to suspension for positive drug tests. Instead, they will be fined. Under the deal, the threshold for a positive THC test has been increased.
Snoop Dogg is a marijuana icon and was featured on the Super Bowl halftime shows last year. An ad that indirectly supported legalization was shown. It argued that leagues should stop testing their players for marijuana to allow them to use it instead of prescription opioids.
The arrest of Brittney Griner, a U.S. basketball player, in Russia for using THC vapes was also a discussion topic.
Kentucky Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill into Law
The post The NBA Lifts Its Marijuana Ban In A New Deal with Players Union appeared first on Marijuana Moment.
