Back in 2020 when the NBA went to Orlando for the Bubble, they stopped testing players for marijuana, but it wasn’t until this summer that weed was officially taken off of the banned substance list.
NBA players have long smoked weed, hoping to dodge suspensions in testing, but now they are free to partake as much as they want. Kevin Durant, who is invested in some cannabis companies and is not exactly shy about his personal usage, was part of the push to officially remove it from the banned substance list, and had a conversation with NBA commissioner Adam Silver about it prior to the agreement.
In a recent CNBC event, Durant was asked about that conversation and what he said, and KD noted he didn’t have to say much, as he notes the commissioner smelled it at soon as he walked in and knew exactly what was up.
At #GamePlan23 @KDTrey5 discusses his business ventures in the marijuana industry with @andrewrsorkin pic.twitter.com/IdByyZvAPV
— CNBC Events (@cnbcevents) July 26, 2023
Given marijuana is now legal to smoke recreationally in many states, which as KD notes has removed a lot of the stigma around it, it made sense for the NBA to take it off the banned substance list. Still it’s funny that Durant effectively let the weed do the talking for him in a meeting with the commish, and now he and other NBA players can, officially, stop trying to count their drug tests to know when it’s safe to smoke unabashedly.
