Kevin Durant Says He Asked the NBA to Allow Players to Use Marijuana: ‘Everybody Does It’

The Phoenix Suns star says he called NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and met with him, leading to the league lifting the ban on the recreational drug

Kevin Durant is helping to take the “stigma” away from marijuana use in the NBA.

While speaking at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan Summit on Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns superstar revealed that he had a blunt talk with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver that led to the league’s recent elimination of its weed ban.

"I actually called him and advocated for him to take marijuana off the banned substance list," Durant, 34, said. "I just felt like it was becoming a thing around the country, around the world, that the stigma behind it wasn’t as negative as it was before. It doesn’t affect you in any negative way."

The University of Texas alum said he even smoked just before his meeting with Silver.

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"Well, he smelled it when I walked in, so I ain’t really have to say much," Durant said. "He kind of understood where this was going. And I mean, it’s the NBA, man. Everybody does it, to be honest. It’s like wine at this point."

Durant said Silver “agreed” to lift the ban, which is now part of the seven-year collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the player’s union that became effective on July 1.

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Now entering his 17th season in the league, Durant has long been a proponent of the recreational drug. In 2021, he became an investor in WeedMaps — a platform that connects buyers to dispensaries — according to SB Nation.

Before the new bargaining agreement, players who violated the league’s marijuana policy faced incremental punishment: entering the league’s treatment and counseling program after the first violation, facing a $25,000 fine for the second, and receiving a five-game suspension without pay for the third.

Related: Kevin Durant Slams Charles Barkley for Calling Him 'Very Sensitive,' Says He'll 'Never Respect' the NBA Legend

In 2021, the NBA stopped random testing for marijuana and began to focus its testing on performance-enhancing drugs and “drugs of abuse” like cocaine and methamphetamine, per USA Today.

As Durant begins his first full season with the Suns, the athlete is aiming to continue to evolve alongside teammates Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and recent addition Bradley Beal.

But in his CNBC interview, Durant seemingly downplayed the role he played in changing the league’s drug policy, saying: “I just enjoy the plant."

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