Cannabis is no longer a banned substance under the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement. After putting a pause on testing for marijuana during the bubble, the owners and players agreed to permanently remove testing for cannabis going forward.
Kevin Durant helped get marijuana off NBA banned substance list
Kevin Durant convinced Adam Silver to take weed off NBA’s banned substance list
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
When NBA players light up this season, they have Kevin Durant to thank for it.
A conversation between Durant and NBA commissioner Adam Silver led to cannabis being removed from the banned substance list. Durant recalled his encounter with Silver during a recent CNBC conference with his media company The Boardroom.
“He smelled it on me, so I didn’t have to say much,” Durant said when asked how he convinced Silver to end the league’s marijuana ban. “It’s the NBA. Everybody does it, to be honest.”
KD didn’t hesitate to say he enjoys the plant in the interview. This is what progress looks like.
Durant has been a public advocate of cannabis use among athletes the last few years. In 2021, he invested in WeedMaps, a platform that connected buyers to dispensaries.
Cannabis is legal for recreational purposes in Arizona, where Durant plays for the Phoenix Suns. Marijuana legal recreationally in 23 states. It remains illegal federally.
If Adam Silver can get cannabis off the banned substance list in the NBA, it’s time for Joe Biden to make the substance federally legal. What an easy win that would be. Someone please set up a conversation between KD and the President, ASAP.
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