The NBA will no longer test for marijuana, according to a tentative deal between the league and the National Basketball Players Association.
The two sides announced the collective bargaining agreement, which still needs to be ratified before it becomes official, on Saturday morning, according to The Athletic.
If the CBA is ratified by the players and team governors, the seven-year deal would include a stipulation that marijuana will be removed from the drug testing program and NBA players will no longer be penalized for its use, The Athletic reported, citing sources with knowledge of the details of the agreement.
In a statement posted to Twitter, the National Basketball Players Association said: “Specific details will be made available once a term sheet is finalized.”
“Since day one, the goal of the NBPA in this negotiation was to protect our players, enrich their lives on and off the court, and establish a framework that recognizes our players as true partners with the governors in both the NBA and the business world at large!” NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said in a tweet.
Amid the pandemic, the NBA announced in late 2021 that it would no longer randomly test players for marijuana use after suspending testing in March 2020. At the time, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the league would instead “focus our random testing program on performance-enhancing products and drugs of abuse.”
Some NBA athletes – including Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Allen Iverson – have been open about their own weed use and advocated for cannabis legalization, Insider previously reported.
Athletes from other leagues, like the NFL and UFC, have done the same.
Source: Insider
