On Friday afternoon, Marc Stein of the New York Times reported the NBA officially suspended random marijuana testing for the 2020-21 season.
While the league still counts marijuana — which was not tested for when the league restarted in a bubble over the summer — as a banned substance, the NBA will only test for in cases where this is “cause” to do so.
“Due to the unusual circumstances in conjunction with the pandemic, we have agreed with the NBPA to suspend random testing for marijuana for the 2020-21 season and focus our random testing program on performance-enhancing products and drugs of abuse,” according to NBA spokesman Mike Bass.
When news of the policy change hit the internet, NBA Twitter singled out one player in particular who would probably be a fan of the league’s new policy: J.R. Smith (who has previously been associated with a variety of pipe that has nothing to do with pot).
Smith, 35, has been a longtime advocate for the legalization of marijuana and even promoted a weed company before Game 4 of the NBA Finals, hence the following Twitter reactions.
The policy may not actually affect Smith at all, as he is still a free agent after playing the end of last season for the Los Angeles Lakers and winning a title.
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