The NBA recently suspended random drug testing for marijuana, citing the pandemic circumstances, but also saying “… and focus our random drug testing program on performance-enhancing products and drugs of abuse” hinting that weed was not something players abused.
As a prescribed anxiety medication for many Americans, the fear caused by the pandemic led to the NBA also nixing their marijuana tests during their 2020 campaign, which was played inside a “bubble” with every game, including the playoffs, being held in Orlando with players adhering to strict visitation and no-travel protocols. This season is shortened, but teams play their home games in their hometowns, except the Toronto Raptors (Tampa Bay), due to Canadian COVID laws.
There is a chance the NBA reinstates pot testing after the pandemic has finally left town, but the timeline of progression would cause anyone to suspect otherwise. With weed becoming less and less frowned upon in all areas of professionalism, here is a closer look at marijuana testing rules and punishments in the major sports in the United States.
NBA
The NBA does not have a lot of high-profile drug dismissals in its history, and part of the reason is a strict adherence to not releasing information when a player has been dismissed from the league, outside of the length of the suspension (sometimes permanent) and whether it was related to drugs or not. Even before the recent abolition of marijuana testing, the NBA did not consider marijuana a “drug of abuse.” NBA policy does dictate, however, that dismissal from the league can be justified by testing positive for a “drug of abuse,” which they list as amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cocaine, LSD, and opiates. If a player tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs, that information is also released, separating them from “drugs of abuse.”
Last year, before the league stopped weed testing, Heat guard Dion Waiters had a comical 10-game suspension when he tested positive for marijuana saying he must have accidentally eaten the wrong gummy bears, and that in and of itself is a pretty great microcosm of the level of seriousness the NBA has approached marijuana with in the past 5 years.
The most recent full dismissal from the NBA for failed drug tests was Tyreke Evans in 2019, and he is elibile for reinstatement this season, but has not been as of this article being published. No drug type was released. Before that, it was O.J. Mayo in 2016, so these are not frequent acts by the NBA, and it does not look like a player will ever get in trouble for testing positive for marijuana again.
NFL
The NFL, which historically pales in comparison to the NBA when it comes to player treatment and progressive policies, has been very strict on marijuana use up until last year, thwarting the careers of some truly fantastic athletes along the way.
Ricky Williams was inarguably a monster, and even in his three injury-laden years with the Saints, he was a hundred-yards-from-scrimmage guy every time he was able to suit up, and in his first season with the Dolphins he stayed healthy and was first team All-Pro at the running back position. In 2004, the next year, Williams retired from football after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy for the second time while facing a $650,000 fine and a four-year suspension. Even after being reinstated, he still looks back and considers his decision to choose weed and “spirituality” over football as “the most positive thing” he had ever done.
In 2005 he was reinstated, and in 2006 he was suspended again, for a full season, and finally came back in 2007 where he suffered a season-ending injury in his only game. He would return in 2009 with a stellar season, and follow it up with another in 2010, amassing more than 1,000 yards, making him the first player to have a full six years between 1,000 yards seasons. Those middle years could have been productive if not for the league’s policy on marijuana, and he is not the only one to suffer.
Josh Gordon led the NFL in receiving yards in 2013 playing for The Browns, and he missed two full games. That is pretty incredible, and only one other player has led the league in receptions in less than 14 games since 1977, another gentlemen familiar with suspensions: Antonio Brown. Gordon has played less than 20 games, total, since that season, and it’s all due to marijuana suspensions, a drug he uses for anxiety and pain.
Finally, last year the NFL upgraded their policy, and has limited drug testing for weed to the first two weeks of training camp, similar to a pre-employment drug screening in another job. Players pushed for the drug primarily as an alternative for pain-relieving opiates, and in such a brutal sport, addictions to said opiates are very high, and last year a report came out that an estimated 90% of players use marijuana, with more conservatives polls still pointing to upwards of 50%.
MLB
The MLB has long since only fined players for testing positive for weed, and not suspending them, but in 2020 they completely removed the drug from the banned substance list, and pretty much just said “don’t have it at the ballpark and don’t come to games visibly high.” Seems sensible for a sport that (subjectively, of course) seems like it takes as much work effort as scratching a dog’s back or being a sports journalist, but I digress.
NHL
With a lot more representation north of the border (7 teams in Canada), the NHL has been even further ahead of the weed curve than the other “Big 3.” Canada legalized weed in 2018 across the entire country, and though the NHL does still test for weed, if some one pops positive for pot, they are interviewed to determine if they have a problem. Even if they do (which is rare), they are not suspended, and only referred to a league-sanctioned substance abuse program. Pretty forward-thinking rules for a league many perceive as an old-school sport of nothing but brut force and missing teeth. It’s hard enough to skate without giant men trying to fight you… there’s some high-levels of mental acuity behind those knocked out pearly whites.
Future
Ultimately, the leagues who moved forward with relaxed rules more quickly were the leagues who truly dedicated time into seeing if the drug could help their players. The NHL and NBA historically back their players, especially under the current commissioners, Gary Bettman and Adam Silver, respectively. With the NFL just repeatedly failing to show any interest in their players’ beliefs or health, it might be time to cancel Roger Goodell, so the fans can see their favorites more often, and those favorites can find alternative pain relief for their laundry list of physical issues.
