NBA Players Will Be Able To Get As High As They Want This Season
Live look at basically every roster in the entire NBA this season
It's only a matter of time before marijuana testing is gone for good, and I don't really care what reason the NBA uses for it this is obviously a no brainer decision. With more and more states legalizing recreational use, it's pretty silly that an NBA player could get in trouble/suspended for smoking a blunt. It clearly didn't impact the product in the bubble and you are out of your mind if you don't think guys were smoking while they were stuck there for months.
It is a little sad that they are doing this now that JR Smith is out of the league as well as Dion Waiters last time I checked. If I was Dion I'd be a little heated given everything that happened with his gummy incident last season. I can't imagine we'll have to worry about anyone showing up to games while their brain is in the clouds or anything like that, but why shouldn't a player be able to get a little high to help with pain or recovery or stress? There are a billion uses for cannabis so it's time sports leagues adapt to the times. So someone smokes a little weed or takes an edible. Maybe they use a cream to help relax a tight muscle. Grow up.
Think about it. We live in a weird ass time right now. Since there's no bubble environment, road travel could get dicey. If a team is heading out to play the Nuggets or the Warriors would you rather the players potentially contract the rona while hitting up a bar or maybe have them stay in their room getting high as hell enjoying some devil's lettuce? That feels like an easy answer. The league needs to limit as much exposure as possible so allowing the option for players to be stuck to their couches/beds during a road trip seems like a great idea to me.
I'm not sure what gambling implications there might be, but I feel like this is something any bettor should monitor moving forward. Sort of like when Harden was going to a city with a great strip club scene. From what I'm told you need any sort of edge you can get in gambling and something tells me that teams traveling to states where weed is legal might be just that.