What's the story?
ESPN is reporting on an interview that former NBA Commissioner David Stern recently did with former NBA player Al Harrington for Bleacher Report's show Uninterrupted. Within the interview, they discussed medical marijuana and how it should be allowed in the league.
In case you didn't know...
Stern was the Commissioner of the NBA exactly 30 years from February 1, 1984 to January 31, 2014. During his tenure, NBA saw exponential growth in popularity worldwide as well as within the league itself with a total of seven expansion teams.
The heart of the matter...
Stern told Harrington that he thinks that medical marijuana should be removed from the leagues banned substances list. Drug testing was one of the landmark policies that Stern introduced while Commissioner of the NBA.
Harrington is an advocate and entrepreneur in the medial marijuana field, and his points convinced Stern to change his stance. Take a look at Stern's quote below:
"I'm now at the point where, personally, I think it probably should be removed from the banned list. You've persuaded me.
Current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated this past August that medical marijuana is a subject that the league will take a look at in the near future. Silver even mentioned that he's very interested in the science behind it.
What's next?
It is unknown when Silver will take a look at medical marijuana in regards to the banned substance list, but most likely that will be a topic reviewed during the next offseason.
Author's take...
The fact that several states have legalized it for medical and recreational purposes the growing acceptance and understanding of it around the country. I'm a believer of it being allowed in sports because the benefits have been proven.