“Adam Silver Smelled It When I Walked in”: Kevin Durant Describes Convincing NBA Commissioner to ‘Destigmatize’ Marijuana, Compared It With Wine

Known for expressing his opinions, Kevin Durant and his media brand teamed up with CNBC to host an event called the Game Plan. The event brings together influential people from the sports world to discuss the ever-evolving landscape. An important conversation during the event was the NBA champion’s efforts to destigmatize marijuana in the league and how he convinced the commissioner of the same.

The debate around legalizing marijuana has spanned decades, and people in favor are trying to spread awareness about the substance. The NBA champion has invested in multiple cannabis ventures, including his recent collaboration with ‘Weedmaps’. The collaboration aims at fighting misconceptions about the drug through content-driven awareness. Durant spoke about reaching out to Adam Silver to take it off the bad substance list.

Kevin Durant convinced Adam Silver on marijuana

Game Plan was a first-of-its-kind event that hosted influential people, including investors, sports personalities, and owners in the world of sports to come together under one roof to discuss the future. During the event, Durant sat down with Andrew Sorkin to talk about his opinion on marijuana and his attempt to make it legal in the league. Here is what he said when the host asked him how he convinced Adam Silver:

“I just enjoy the plant. Adam (Silver) just smelled it when I walked in, so I didn’t really have to say much. He kind of understood where this was going. It’s the NBA, everybody does it. It’s like wine at this point.”

At #GamePlan23 @KDTrey5 discusses his business ventures in the marijuana industry with @andrewrsorkin pic.twitter.com/IdByyZvAPV

— CNBC Events (@cnbcevents) July 26, 2023

The Phoenix Suns forward also talked about the unnecessary negativity around the plant and how countries have started to accept it in recent times. According to him, the commissioner agreed to his arguments, and we have seen amendments being made in that regard. Players have started to talk about it more openly and also partner with cannabis brands.

NBA’s rule changes on marijuana

The league performs random tests on athletes to curb the use of performance-enhancing drugs or illegal substances. The list also contained marijuana until 2021. However, it must also be stated that during the 2020 bubble, the league decided to not test for marijuana. That has remained suit going forward. The players are now free to indulge in the substance at their discretion.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and the player’s Association has decided to scrap the testing for cannabis altogether. As mentioned by Durant, everyone in the league does it, and putting restrictions only promotes untoward behavior. Considering the harmful effects to be minimal, the NBA has taken an important step toward raising awareness.