Illustration by Grace O’Keefe
With the upcoming legalization of recreational marijuana use in California, sports culture may experience some significant changes. California’s change in legislation coincides with a shift in attitude across the country towards the drug, with its legalization in eight states, compared to zero in 2011. Medical marijuana has been legal in California for over twenty years now and is used in various ways by professional athletes to treat pain in the offseason.
When questioned on the introduction of medical marijuana into the National Basketball Association (NBA), Commissioner Adam Silver said, “My personal view is that it should be regulated in the same way that other medications are if the plan is to use it for pain management … To the extent that science demonstrates that there are effective uses for medical reasons, we’ll be open to it.”
The implications of Silver’s statement generate several questions. Under what conditions will players be allowed to use marijuana? Will players be allowed to play under the influence because they are managing their pain with marijuana? Assuming the NBA did decide to introduce medical marijuana, this could lead to conflicts, as marijuana consumption is illegal in five states with NBA teams. There is a possibility that this would pose an unfair advantage for the players who can obtain marijuana to treat their pain. If some players are using marijuana to improve their performance, will other players be able to keep up?
As if this wasn’t enough to manage for the NBA, the league would also need to take into account the negative publicity this policy could lead to. This is not to say that someone who uses marijuana warrants disapproval from those who do not. However, a large portion of the NBA’s fan base is not old enough to legally smoke marijuana, or may still live in a place where it is not legal. When young fans are exposed to marijuana through the players they have plastered on their bedroom walls at home, it becomes normalized. This is a vexing subject, as marijuana is an acceptable and even applaudable form of pain management compared to alternative painkillers. When you compare the highly addictive nature of codeine and other similar painkillers to marijuana, the latter seems like a good substitute. The opioid epidemic is plaguing our country and is systematically introduced to the lives of injured athletes, who are prescribed strong painkillers, which is dangerous and addictive.
With proper and fair regulation, many believe that medical marijuana has the potential to sustain athletes throughout their gruelling seasons.