Snoop Dogg praises NBA for new marijuana policy, says it's a better alternative to opioids

Many people are onboard with the NBA's move to drop cannabis from the league’s banned substances list for players.

But the person who is perhaps most excited by the plans is rap icon and weed lover Snoop Dogg.

Throughout the years, we've seen the NBA dish out huge fines and lengthy suspensions to players found with marijuana in their systems.

But with day-to-day laws around weed use becoming relaxed in many states across America, the NBA is potentially following suit with reports emerging that they could change their strict policies.

It means players won't be tested for cannabis during drug tests.

Now music royalty Snoop, who is known to dabble in the odd joint here and there, has heaped praise on the move.

“I've thought about the medical side of it, the health benefits and how it could actually help ease the opioids and all the pills that they’ve been given and the injections,” Snoop told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith and Jalen Rose.

“I thought about that side and how certain players have been able to have a beautiful life after sports because of the fact that they’ve been able to treat themselves. Now the NBA is being lenient, just like the NHL and MLB, it's all the same thing.

“As long as it doesn’t enhance your skills to make you play better or to give you an advantage, you should be able to treat yourself and to heal yourself.”

Snoop has been a very vocal advocate for marijuana for donkey's years now.

But in more recent times, the 51-year-old has stepped up his game even further by targeting sporting organisations, emphasising the medicinal benefits weed has, particularly as an alternative to prescription opioids.

“Through the CBD, through the THC, through the marijuana, through the cannabis, they’re able to find a relaxation and getting the medical treatment that they deserve - without having those later side effects - so I push for that in sports,” he said back in 2021.

It's understood the NBA’s updated rules would also allow players to promote and invest in the cannabis industry off the court, a market which has boomed since its legalisation in various U.S. states.

Other sports governing bodies have also made major shifts on their anti-doping policies – the UFC being one of them.

Back in 2021, mixed martial arts' premium promotion confirmed that its fighters would no longer be punished if they tested positive for carboxy-THC – the psychoactive ingredient found in cannabis.

"Based on my informal discussion with athletes, there's a significant number of percentage of athletes that choose to use marijuana, many for legitimate reasons outside of recreational," the UFC's vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky said.

"Many use it for pain control, anti-anxiety, to sleep, in lieu of more dangerous, more addictive drugs, so hopefully this being the first step to opening that up so that an athlete on Wednesday night of fight week instead of going to a Vicodin because their knee hurts and they can't sleep can use a little bit of cannabis and get to sleep and have that pain control.

"It has no effect whatsoever on a competition on Saturday night, so it's the right move, and I'm really excited about this revision and that specific policy change."