During the most recent episode of the ‘Warriors Insider Podcast’ on Comcast SportsNet California, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted he tried marijuana to ease the pain of a back injury. “Maybe I could even get in some trouble for this,” Kerr said, “but I’ve actually tried it twice during the last year and a half while I’ve been going through this chronic pain I’ve been dealing with. I tried it, and it didn’t help at all, but it was worth it because I’m searching for answers on pain. I’ve tried painkillers and drugs of other kinds as well and those have been worse...so it’s tricky.”
According to current regulations, NBA players are subjected to drug tests, and the organization frowns on illegal drug use of any kind. But with a growing connection between painkiller use and opiate addiction, is it time to give medical marijuana a try?
“Sports are out of step with where the law is, [and] where the public is,” Medical Ethicist Art Caplan said in an interview Thursday with Boston Public Radio. “A lot of those franchises are in states that have legalized medical marijuana, and yet the leagues are prohibiting it. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Medical marijuana has been legalized in 28 states across America and the District of Columbia, and recreational weed is now legal in nine states across the country.
“Doctors, scientists and the public, they think that using marijuana, primarily for pain control… is not very risky, and might provide you with some relief,” Caplan said. “The time has come, given what we understand about marijuana...given the option of addictive drugs, maybe let’s get that available to people first, let them try that, and if it doesn’t work, they can go on to other stuff.”
Medical Ethicist Art Caplan is Head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center and the co-host of the Everyday Ethics podcast. To hear more of his interview with BPR, click on the audio link above.
