Add Karl-Anthony Towns to the growing list of athletes in support of medical marijuana.
The Minnesota Timberwolves center voiced this opinion during an appearance on ESPN, where he said he agreed with former NBA commissioner David Stern’s pro-marijuana stance.
“You could use the [chemical] properties in it to make a lot of people better,” Towns said, before clarifying that he only supports medical use of the marijuana. “Not fully legal where people are chimneys,” he said, “but using [marijuana] as a beneficial factor as an athlete, as a person living daily.”
Towns claims that he’s never used pot recreationally, but he’s seen its medical benefits firsthand. “I deal with kids all the time at autistic schools … my girlfriend has an autistic nephew, and you realize those properties of marijuana can do a lot of good for kids and for adults,” he said. “Just because we’re NBA athletes, we’re not super humans. Some of us have conditions that could use [medicinal marijuana] to our benefit for everyday living, just taking care of our kids and our families.”
Towns also claims that support for medical marijuana isn’t uncommon among NBA players. Some coaches are in favor as well, including Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who told NBC Sports’ Warriors Insider Podcast that he used marijuana to treat chronic back pain.
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