NBA responds to Kerr's pot stance, says coaches are also tested

Having spent the past day hearing about the head coach of the league's current marquee team talk about treating chronic back pain with marijuana, the NBA released a short statement on the topic.

"All of our coaches are drug tested each season," NBA PR staffer Mike Bass said, according to ESPN's Chris Haynes. "Marijuana is included on our banned substances list."

On Friday, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted to using marijuana twice over the past year to treat pain related to the back surgery he underwent in 2015. Kerr also echoed a widespread belief that while he doesn't necessarily enjoy the drug from a recreational standpoint, he believed it to be safer and less habit-forming than other prescription painkillers.

Bass clarified there are medical exceptions to the NBA's marijuana policy, which mandates completion of a substance-abuse treatment program upon a first positive test.

"There are medical exceptions to our policy, but in (Kerr's) case, it's not relevant because Steve said he did not find marijuana to be helpful in relieving his back pain."

Despite Bass' assertion that coaches are also drug-tested along with players, Kerr told CSN's Monte Poole that he is not sure about the protocol.

"I have no idea if maybe I would have failed a drug test," he said. "I don't even know if I'm subject to a drug test or any laws from the NBA."

The next NBA collective bargaining agreement is expected to have "tweaks" to the marijuana policy given that several U.S. states and Canada have taken steps to decriminalize cannabis over the last few years.

"I think the league should look into the use of medicinal marijuana for pain relief," Kerr said Saturday, according to ESPN's Ethan Sherwood Strauss. "That's what should be in the CBA, and that's what our owners and the league and the players' union should be most concerned with."