Weed Consumption Permitted, NBA Deal Now Allows Players To Invest In Cannabis, Some Have Already Started

In addition to ditching cannabis testing for NBA players, details from the league's new collective bargaining agreement will give players the ability to invest in NBA and WNBA teams, as well as promote and/or invest in sports betting and cannabis companies, The Athletic reported.  

“Specific details will be made available once a term sheet is finalized,” the group said in a statement.

This aspect of the proposed seven-year agreement would provide a major endorsement for the cannabis industry and certainly open up a new source of funds for struggling marijuana companies. Up to now, NBA players have been banned from participating in cannabis sponsorships or business opportunities.

Current players that is.

Former NBA players, meanwhile, have been all over cannabis, advocating for legalization as well as opening cannabis shops and creating their own brands.

To name a few: Al Harrington who co-founded LA-based Viola Brands; Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets All-Star who is best known for partnering with Weedmaps MAPS to help “destigmatize marijuana use among athletes.”  Then there's Chris Webber, NBA All-Star and founder of Webber Wellness who along with Jason Wild, founder and CIO of JW Asset Management, teamed up to create a $100 million cannabis impact fund. 
And the list goes on.

Major League Baseball Took The Leap: What's Everyone Else Waiting For?

In Oct. 2022, the MLB became the first big-league sports property to officially have a CBD sponsor, Charlotte’s Web CWEB CWBHF, in a move that will give the league a piece of the growing CBD market in the U.S, estimated to be worth $4.9 billion worldwide and projected to reach $12.64 billion by 2026.

Medical marijuana is now legal in 38 states and athletes across a number of disciplines have acknowledged that cannabis has helped them with myriad conditions mostly connected to chronic pain and brain swelling usually resulting from head injuries.

Though the NFL earmarked donated $1 million last year for research into pain management and cannabis, it still bans players from using it for their own pain management.