Stephen Jackson admitted to TMZ that he smoked marijuana during his entire 14-year NBA career, despite marijuana being listed on the league’s banned substance list. while Jackson was in the league, however, the 39-year-old admitted the rule didn’t stop him from smoking.
Jackson, 39, told TMZ that he thinks the NBA should take weed off the banned substance list, and said, “I smoked my whole career, had a hell of a career.”
“I think they should take it (weed) off, why not?” Jackson told TMZ. “I smoked my whole career, had a hell of a career.”
“I didn’t miss no games,” Jackson added. “I ain’t going to say it helped as far as after the games coming down and relaxing.”
Jackson said that he would smoke after games, and added that “nobody can play high” in the NBA.
“Nobody can play high, especially in the NBA — it’s a high-level of competition, and guys are great, so nobody can play high,” Jackson said. “If anybody says they need to be high during the games they don’t know what the f–k they’re talking about.”
Multiple players have been outspoken in recent months about the possibility of the NBA removing weed from its banned substance list. Those players are joined by former commissioner David Stern who tends to agree that weed shouldn’t be on the list anymore.
“I don’t think there’s been a proper spokesperson for this subject,” Stern said. “I think that if medical marijuana is available, then it’s up to the individual team doctor. You tell me it worked for you and it worked for others that you knew, then we should find a way to get that defined and made official, and then proceed to educating team docs.
“And I think all of the leagues are now appropriately focused on player training, structuring of the right parts of their body, player rehabilitation in the case of injury, player nutrition, player this, player that. This should be a part of that conversation.”
