David Stern on weed: NBA should 'let you do what is legal in your state'

Cannabis advocates have an unlikely new supporter: former NBA commissioner David Stern.

"I think (the NBA has) to change the collective bargaining agreement and let you do what is legal in your state," Stern said in an interview with cannabis entrepreneur and former NBA player Al Harrington for UNINTERRUPTED.

Stern, who held the top league office position from 1984-2014, has long been credited with cleaning up the NBA after an era of reported widespread drug use among players threatened its long-term reputation. Through the latter half of the 1980s, several notable players were banned from the NBA (and later reinstated) for drug-related infractions, including four-time All-Star Micheal Ray Richardson and Mitchell Wiggins, father of Minnesota Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins.

Now, contemporary arguments for the decriminalization of marijuana - Stern specifically cited those made by CNN correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta - have helped the 75-year-old appreciate the drug's potential to alleviate pain.

"I think that pretty smart people don't know what's right and what's not right, but I think there's universal agreement that marijuana for medical purposes should be completely legal," he told Harrington.

Stern envisioned a huge potential benefit of refining the CBA's drug policy: "Can you imagine if we could create a situation where every superstar was able to play one additional year?"