Ice Cube’s ‘BIG3’ becomes first pro sports league to allow players to use CBD
BIG3 has announced today (June 27th) the legalization of cannabidiol (CBD) effective immediately for the 2018 season to help players with pain management.
Talks of the NBA lifting its ban on marijuana and its derivatives for rehabilitation had been stirring for a while now, dating back to 2017.
Last year, former Denver Nuggets star and now a member of BIG3’s Trilogy, Al Harrington, claimed that 70% of athletes across all major sports use pot and that it isn’t just the players. He told Uninterrupted,
“I THINK IT’S THAT BIG. NOT ONLY THE PLAYERS, BUT I THINK COACHES CONSUME, I THINK THE OWNERS CONSUME. I THINK IN SPORTS IT’S VERY PREVALENT AND IT’S RIGHT THERE.”
Similarly, in a 2017 sit down interview with ESPN.com, Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns addressed the topic of medical marijuana, saying he agreed with David Stern’s claim that the NBA should remove marijuana from the banned list because of the healing properties of the plant, confirming Al’s sentiments.
Towns told ESPN.com,
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO ACTUALLY MAKE IT ‘MARY J’ [OR] ‘HALF BAKED.’ YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT LIKE THAT, BUT YOU COULD USE THE [CHEMICAL] PROPERTIES IN IT TO MAKE A LOT OF PEOPLE BETTER. THAT’S SOMETHING THAT ADAM SILVER HAS TO DO, THAT’S OUT OF MY CONTROL, BUT MAYBE LEGALIZING MARIJUANA. NOT FULLY LEGAL WHERE PEOPLE ARE CHIMNEYS BUT USING [MARIJUANA] AS A BENEFICIAL FACTOR AS AN ATHLETE, AS A PERSON LIVING DAILY.”
Now, while just being in its second year, the BIG3 league has a chance to set a new precedent for professional sports leagues in the U.S. With the current opioid crisis, it only makes sense to give athletes the option for natural remedies.
If you’re unfamiliar with Ice Cube’s BIG3 league, it’s a 10-week season that features four consecutive games on each regular-season date.
The league, which began its second season last Friday in Houston, has added even more once-prominent NBA talent like Carlos Boozer, Amar’e Stoudemire, and even Nate Robinson, who all have attracted big viewings already.
As the negative stigma surrounding marijuana continues to decrease, so will the barriers to usage. Ice Cube and BIG3 now have the opportunity to be a case study that may translate to other leagues in the future.
In Cube’s words, you’d have to say today was a good day.