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NBA Marijuana Policy 2023: Can NBA Players Smoke Weed?

Can NBA players smoke weed? There is no doubt that an NBA marijuana culture is growing rapidly across the NBA and American sports. Under a new labor agreement players are allowed to use marijuana. What about before the agreement is ratified? Let’s take a look at the current NBA drug policy on marijuana and the weed culture around it.

Can NBA Players Smoke Weed?

Yes, NBA players can smoke weed. Whether it’s legal however is a different story. Former and even current players are becoming more vocal by the day about normalizing the stigma around NBA marijuana culture.

When comparing the NBA’s drug policy on marijuana to other major sports leagues, the NBA has a more open minded approach.

The league appears to be in good hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. When asked about the NBA drug policy and the league’s stance on marijuana back in 2019, Silver said, “One of the things I’ve been talking more about in the past several years is mental wellness of our players.“

“Some guys are smoking pot in the same way some guys would take a drink…if they want to smoke pot, whatever, it’s legal in a lot of states. We have no issue with that.”

Silver has always had an open-minded approach when it comes to medical marijuana but despite what Silver says, the letter of the law suggests otherwise, for now.

NBA Drug Policy

Despite the NBA’s softened stance on NBA marijuana use by players, the NBA drug policy states that marijuana and its byproducts are banned by the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program, along with 225 other substances. 

The NBA weed policy also bans cannabidiol (CBD), a popular natural remedy which is one of over 100 chemical compounds found in the marijuana plant.

As of early 2023, a total of 37 states in the US have legalized medicinal marijuana programs and states have approved it for recreational use by adults over the age of 21. 

So are NBA players allowed to smoke weed? 

By definition of the NBA drug policy on marijuana, it’s a prohibited substance. But the law is only as good as its enforcement. NBA players can smoke weed because of how the NBA tests for weed.

You can check out the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBPA and the NBA here. It sets out the terms and conditions of employment for NBA players and includes the NBA Drug Policy which begins on Page 421.

NBA Drug Policy on Marijuana
2017 NBA-NBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement outlines the NBA Drug Policy on marijuana

Does the NBA Test for Weed?

The NBA is not currently testing players for marijuana so players can smoke weed without any fear of repercussion. It follows the NBA and the NBPA agreeing not to conduct randomized tests for marijuana during the 2020-21 season.

That’s despite marijuana being listed as a prohibited substance in the current NBA-NBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement alongside 224 other substances. Once the new labor agreement is ratified, weed will be removed from the list of prohibited substances.

How Much Weed Can NBA Players Smoke?

NBA players can smoke as much weed as they want as the league isn’t testing for it. Smoking it may impact their game so whether players want to use it is a personal choice and preference.

As the current NBA-NBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement levels above 35ng/ml of marijuana metabolites and any detectable levels of synthetic cannabinoids are prohibited.

According to an American College of Medical Toxicology study by Marilyn A. Huestis it takes approximately 48-hours to fall under the 35-nanograms of THC per millilitre after smoking weed.

can nba players smoke weed
Acute vs Chronic Frequent Cannabis Intake. Professor Dr. Dr. (h.c.) Marilyn A. Huestis Chief, Chemistry & Drug Metabolism, IRP National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH

NBA Drug Violations

Punishments for use of prohibited substances exist in the CBA and will apply for drugs that are detected in a player. Any player breaking the NBA drug policy needs to complete a mandatory substance abuse program.

A second infraction of the NBA drug policy will result in a $25,000 fine. Breaking the policy a third time results in a five-game suspension and a fourth breach of the NBA drug policy will result in a ten-game suspension.

NBA players who smoke weed will be relieved with the league’s lenient stance on weed so don’t need to worry about NBA drug violations at this time. The current NBA weed policy on not testing for the drug means that an NBA marijuana culture is cultivating at a fast rate.

What Drugs Are Banned in NBA?

As determined by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), banned substances fall into the following categories:

  • Adrogens
  • Blood Doping
  • Cannabinoids
  • Diuretics
  • Narcotics
  • Peptide Hormones
  • Stimulants

The NBA weed policy is leading to cannabinoids becoming more widely accepted in American sports. NBA marijuana use isn’t seen as a drug that will provide a competitive advantage which Adam Silver has acknowledged last year.“It’s certainly not a performance-enhancing drug,” Silver said.

The league appears to be focusing on the control of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), particularly growth hormones which are becoming an increasing problem in the NBA.

There are more drugs being added onto the list of banned substances. When taking a look at the list of the NBA’s banned suspensions reported by ESPN back in 2012, it was barely even half of the 225 banned substances listed in the NBA drug policy. The list of what drugs are banned in the NBA covers six entire pages in the current CBA.

what drugs are banned NBA
The 2017 NBA-NBPA CBA Exhibit I-2 outlines what substances are banned in the NBA as drugs of abuse

NBA Drug Testing Policy

Players may be subject to testing for prohibited substances at any time without prior notice, but no more than four times in a season. Players can also get tested in the off-season no more than two times. 

The NBA is also limited to no more than 1,525 total tests during the season and no more than 600 during the off-season. A third-party, outside of the NBA and the Players Association, selects the players at random and no prior notice of the testing schedule is shared. 

Samples are analyzed by labs that are selected by the NBA and the NBPA, and are certified by the World Anti-Doping Agency or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). 

The NBA must notify the Players Association of any positive tests before notifying the player. When a player is drug tested, blood tests must occur after the game whereas urine tests are done before a game.

NBA Marijuana Program

The CBA has a section dedicated to the Marijuana Program. Players can enter the program voluntarily at any time and the player won’t incur any sort of penalty. The player must follow a treatment and testing program determined by the Medical Director.

As part of the Marijuana Program if a player fails to provide relevant medical and treatment records to the Medical Director as part of the evaluation, a $10,000 fine will apply. An additional $10,000 fine will be set if there is a further failure to comply eight days later. Each day following that, a $10,000 fine will apply daily for failure to comply.

Failure to follow a treatment program as advised in the professional judgment of the Medical Director will result in a $5,000 fine for each day of failure to comply. A positive marijuana test will also attract fines as outlined in our NBA Drug Violations section.

Do NBA Players Smoke Weed?

Marijuana use is seemingly widespread in the NBA. According to Kenyon Martin, a now retired 15-season NBA veteran, he estimates that up to 85% of NBA players are using cannabis.

Tom Haberstroh and Monte Poole of NBC Sports also said “Six different NBA players, who did not want to be identified, estimated that the percentage of active players using marijuana in some form – buds, edibles, concentrates, CBD oils, lotions, patches – was at least 50 percent and as high as 85 percent.“

Do NBA players smoke weed? That’s a resounding yes! And it’s a helluva lot of players that smoke weed.

NBA Players That Smoke Weed

Up to 85% of NBA players are using marijuana. Some are more obvious than others. There are your obvious cases like JR Smith, who many believe was quite obviously high when playing in the 2020 NBA Bubble. Then there’s Matt Barnes, who’s one of the most “high” profile advocates of NBA marijuana player use. Here’s a list of names of some of the top NBA players who smoke weed:

  • Stephen Jackson
  • Lamar Odom
  • Joakim Noah
  • Klay Thompson
  • Rasheed Wallace
  • Kevin Durant
  • Allen Iverson
  • Thabo Sefolosha
  • Nerlens Noel
  • Larry Sanders
  • Dion Waiters
  • JR Smith
  • Matt Barnes
  • Al Harrington

NBA Marijuana Advocacy

Former player and 2017 NBA champion Matt Barnes is very public on the fact he smoked weed before games throughout his 14-year career.“The GMs, coaches, presidents [were smokin]. Some of the people that are cracking whips and suspending us are smoking weed,” Barnes said in a Bleacher Report interview.

Barnes is a major advocate for NBA marijuana use and even has business interests in the cannabis industry. “My ultimate goal is to get it legalized, or to be a part of the team that gets it legalized in professional sports,” he said.

Superstar Kevin Durant is also an advocate of NBA marijuana use and has his own business interests in the industry. Durant said on an episode of Showtime’s All The Smoke: “Everybody on my team drinks coffee every day. Or guys go out to have wine after games. Marijuana should be in that tone…So hopefully we can get past that and the stigma around it.”, he continued.

Medicinal Marijuana in NBA

Former NBA power forward Al Harrington is another name to add to the list of NBA marijuana advocates. He’s another former NBA player to have founded his own marijuana company.

There are many chemical compounds (cannabinoids) found in cannabis and one of the most popular for pain remedy is cannabidiol (CBD). Harrington believes about 90% of players he speaks to accepts cannabis, and that cannabidiol (CBD) would be easier for NBA players to consume for pain management.

“The day-to-day pain management issues that players deal with can be dealt with through cannabis,” Harrington has expressed. [It’s] something that is all natural and nowhere near as harmful as the stuff that they’re using now”.

Are NBA players allowed to smoke weed to resolve pain management? Yes, but not technically, although the league has suspended testing for marijuana which shows the league is softening its stance on medical marijuana use and recognizing that there are benefits. 

During the 2020 NBA Bubble and following the resumption of the NBA season as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, the NBA agreed players would not be tested for marijuana and that it would focus on performance-enhancing drugs. That trend has continued through the new labor agreement which means that NBA players can smoke weed.

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