Warriors coach Steve Kerr fully supports California's legalization of marijuana
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Steve Kerr is never shy about sharing his cultural opinions, so when California became the sixth state to legalize recreational marijuana as the calendar turned to 2018, the Golden State Warriors coach doubled down on his endorsement of legalized cannabis when asked about it after Tuesday’s practice.
Steve Kerr on marijuana, Part I: "Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I was disappointed that it didn't help me a year and a half ago when I tried it as an alternative to the opioids I was getting prescribed for my pain that I was dealing with."
— Melissa Rohlin (@melissarohlin) January 2, 2018
Kerr on marijuana, part II: "I do feel strongly that it's a much better option than some of the prescription drugs. I know that it's helping a lot of people, which is great. As long as it's regulated and used wisely, I'm a proponent. But again, it's not something that helped me."
— Melissa Rohlin (@melissarohlin) January 2, 2018
It’s been a year since the Warriors coach said he twice tried medical marijuana in recent years to assuage chronic back pain. It didn’t agree with him, but he agrees with it, especially as an alternative medicinal therapy to Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet and other addictive prescription painkillers.
California became the first state to legalize medicinal marijuana in November 1996, and 20 years later residents voted to legalize cannabis recreationally. That law took effect on New Year’s Day. Kerr had previously endorsed its medical properties, but he too expanded that to full legalization on Tuesday.
Kerr is merely the latest NBA proponent of marijuana. Former player Clifford Robinson is among those who have dedicated their post-playing careers to promoting the benefits of cannabis. Karl-Anthony Towns took the reins among active players. Former NBA commissioner David Stern, who enacted the NBA’s current drug policy, has changed his tune. And even current commissioner Adam Silver has suggested the league is open to discussing the possibility of approving medical marijuana use.
Why shouldn’t the NBA change its policy, which currently results in a five-game suspension for marijuana consumption only when a player has violated it three times. Currently, eight NBA teams play in cities where cannabis is completely legal, and another 10 play in states where its legal medically. And if a coach can openly discuss trying it, why shouldn’t players be able to do the same?
– – – – – – –
Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
