Ex-NBA Player Says Smoking Cannabis Could Help Players Heal After Games

A former NBA player said that smoking weed after games and practice helps players heal.

MLB has issue a statement which removed marijuana from the list of drugs they are testing the players. Based on MLB’s new testing regulations, cannabis will now be treated the same as alcohol in a joint agreement between MLB and the players association. The NBA still hasn’t implemented such changes even though there is a lot of pressure from the players themselves. In relation to the issue, retired NBA player Al Harrington stated that cannabis is something the NBA must also act on.

Speaking on VladTV, Harrington talked about the importance of NBA implementing similar rules as the MLB in terms of marijuana. After his career was over, Harrington got into the cannabis business. And now, he believes the players should have the freedom of consuming cannabis if they think it’s the right thing for them after practice or a game.

According to Harrington, NBA players are professional enough to know that smoking cannabis before the game is never a good idea even though it is believed that there are players who regularly show up in games high of weed. Reports also claim that over 70 percent of professional NBA players consume the plant to a certain degree.

“Why would the player show up to the game high? We are professionals, and we know there are a time and place for everything. After the game, I’m going to blow it down; I’m going to relax, play video games and heal,” Harrington pointed out.

The NBA journeyman added that unlike alcohol and illegal drugs, cannabis has medical benefits that are believed to be significant for the players especially in terms of recreation and distressing.

Harrington also stated that if there will be “proper testing” and enough research about the said plant, the world will get to discover the full potential of cannabis.

“There are some medical benefits of cannabis. We don’t know all of them because there isn’t proper testing, but we know for sure there are some. The more conversation we have around it, normalize and humanize this plant I think it will happen sooner than we think,” Harrington explained.

There were minimal cases of careers shattered related to cannabis in the NBA. However, it is still a debate whether the effects of cannabis could really help a professional athlete in terms of recuperating from exhaustion and pressure.