NBA lifts its ban on marijuana according to report

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is reportedly removing its ban on marijuana from its list of banned substances and will no longer drug test players for it as part of a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement.

The decision, first reported on Saturday by Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, formally codifies what has been the league’s decision to suspend cannabis testing for the past three seasons.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver signaled in late 2020 that the policy may eventually become permanent after the league initially suspended cannabis testing when players competed in a quarantine “bubble” in Orlando at the start of the coronavirus pandemic earlier that year.

Instead of ordering frame tests, the commissioner said the league should reach out to players who show signs of problematic addiction, not those who “use marijuana nonchalantly.”

Michele Roberts, once head of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) who also sat on the board of the large cannabis company Cresco Labs in 2020, previously predicted that a formal change to codify the policy may come soon.

In 2021, it was announced that online marijuana marketplace Weedmaps is teaming up with NBA star Kevin Durant for a multi-year partnership aimed at destigmatizing cannabis and showcasing the plant’s potential value for “athlete wellness and recovery.”

This latest action by the NBA comes as the national discussion on cannabis testing policies for athletes continues to unfold – an issue that made international headlines after American runner Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended from participating in the Olympics due to a positive THC test.

The update was based on MLB’s decision in 2019 to remove cannabis from the league’s list of banned substances. Before that rule change, players who tested positive for THC were referred to mandatory treatment and failure to comply was subject to a fine of up to $35,000. That penalty is now gone.

A number of athletic governing bodies have recently relaxed the rules around cannabinoids as laws change and medical applications become more widely accepted.

The UFC announced in 2021 that they would no longer penalize fighters for positive marijuana tests.

Separately, student athletes who are part of the NCAA would no longer automatically lose their eligibility to play after a positive marijuana test under rules recommended by a key committee last year.

Meanwhile, the NFL’s drug testing policy was demonstrably changed in 2020 as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

NFL players no longer face the possibility of being suspended from games because of positive tests for any drug – not just marijuana – under a collective bargaining agreement. Instead, they are fined. The threshold for what constitutes a positive THC test was also raised under the agreement.

Marijuana icon Snoop Dogg, who appeared on the Super Bowl halftime show last year where a separate ad aired that indirectly supported legalization, argued that sports leagues must stop testing players for marijuana and allow them to use it as an alternative to prescription opioids.

One way to gain exposure to the cannabis market is by buying ETFs, so-called exchange-traded funds, which can be done through most banks and online brokers.

Trading the CBSX ETF

HANetf The Medical Cannabis and Wellness UCITS ETF (CBSX ETF) är en europeisk börshandlad fond som handlas på bland annat London Stock Exchange och tyska Xetra. Det betyder att det går att handla andelar i denna ETF genom de flesta svenska banker och Internetmäklare, till exempel DEGIRO, Nordnet och Avanza.

Trade the BLUM ETF

Rize Medical Cannabis and Life Sciences UCITS ETF (BLUM ETF) är en europeisk börshandlad fond som handlas på bland annat London Stock Exchange och tyska Xetra. Det betyder att det går att handla andelar i denna ETF genom de flesta svenska banker och Internetmäklare, till exempel DEGIRO, Nordnet och Avanza.

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