Basketball and Cannabis

By Eric Altstadter

Congratulations to the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team who recently won their fifth NCAA men’s basketball championship. The men have a long way to go to catch the UConn women, who have won 11 NCAA Championships. And congratulations to the Louisiana State University women’s team, who also captured the national championship. The National Basketball Association is getting closer and closer to postseason, and the WNBA is waiting in the wings to begin its season.

What does this all mean? It means it time to talk about cannabis!

The NBA and WNBA and their players associations are about to sign a historic deal, that will need to be ratified by the unions and team governors, which would allow players to invest in and promote cannabis companies and remove cannabis from the League’s Drug Testing Program -- the latter effectively allowing players to consume cannabis. (The NBA stopped random cannabis testing years ago, would only test if they saw evidence of probable cause, and would only suspend a player if they tested positive three times in a row.)

The NBA has historically penalized players that tested positive for cannabis and prevented them from sponsoring and investing in cannabis companies. Is the tide turning in pro sports?

The National Football League recently donated $1 million to research pain management and cannabis. Major League Baseball has its first official cannabidiol sponsor in Charlotte’s Web CBD, and NBA current and former players including Al Harrington, Kevin Durant, Chris Webber, Carmelo Anthony and Shawn Kemp have made high profile entrances into the cannabis industry.

Time will tell is this is the start of a major change in the perception of cannabis.