David Stern Reverses Stance, Says Medical Marijuana Should Be Allowed in NBA

Former NBA Commissioner David Stern is calling for the league to reverse its medical marijuana policy. 

Speaking to former Indiana Pacers swingman Al Harrington as part of an UNINTERRUPTED feature released Wednesday, Stern said he believes the NBA should allow the use of medical marijuana in states where it is already legalized. 

"I'm now at the point where, personally, I think [marijuana] probably should be removed from the ban list," Stern said (h/t Sports Illustrated). "I think there is universal agreement that marijuana for medical purposes should be completely legal." 

The NBA confirmed its stance on marijuana later on Wednesday, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today:

Stern presided over the NBA as commissioner from 1984-2014, a time during which the league cracked down on drug use with harsher penalties and stricter testing. 

"It was sort of generally known at some point until we tightened the rules that a lot of our players were smoking a lot of marijuana," Stern said. 

"In fact, some of our players came to us and said some of these guys are high coming into the game, but we began tightening it up. At that time, people accepted the generally held wisdom that marijuana was a gateway drug and that if you start smoking you're liable to go on to bigger and better stuff."

Stern added that he thinks the NBA's collective bargaining agreement needs to be amended to accommodate new research regarding the positive effects of medical marijuana. 

"I think we have to change the collective bargaining agreement and let you do what is legal in your state," he said. "If marijuana is now in the process of being legalized, I think you should be allowed to do what's legal in your state."

In June, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard CJ McCollum for a piece on The Players' Tribune the league had no plans to alter its marijuana policy. 

"I don't see the need for any changes right now," Silver said. "I mean, it's legal in certain states. But as you know, our players are constantly traveling, and it might be a bit of a trap to say we're going to legalize it in these states, but no, it's illegal in other states. And then players get in a position where they're traveling with marijuana, and we're obviously getting into trouble."

According to the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, first-time violators of the policy are entered into the league's marijuana program, second-time violators are fined $25,000 and third-time violators are suspended five games.