Snoop Dogg Says Sports Leagues Should Let Athletes Use Marijuana

Rapper and cannabis icon —known for his love for blunt wraps— Snoop Dogg, said on Jimmy Kimmel with Stephen A. Smith as guest-host that professional athletes should be able to use marijuana instead of opioids. It became an extremely hot topic amidst the suspension of U.S. runner Sha’Carri Richardson from participating in the Olympics over a positive marijuana test. Smith, who is a sports commentator on ESPN, asked Snoop whether he agreed with his position that athletes should avoid using cannabis to avoid being penalized and losing money.

The rapper said, “Well I agree with your position when it comes to the athletes who have commissioners and rules and regulations and tests and things that they have to deal with in their profession that could stifle them from getting their money.” He went on to say, “Now when I’m speaking to entertainers and people like myself, we don’t have a commissioner, we don’t have none of that. Athletes can hang out with the rappers, but they can’t do what the rappers do because the rappers don’t have ramifications for what they do.” 

Snoop concluded, “But whether there should even be ramifications for athletes who use cannabis is a different matter.” Snoop believes sports leagues should relax their cannabis policies, saying, “what happens is a lot of times these athletes take these pills and they get addicted to these pills, and it still doesn’t give them the relief that they need as far as with the pain or whatever they’re going through.” He continued, “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.”

Snoop added that it doesn’t make sense that different sports leagues hold players to different standards when it comes to drug testing. Marijuana reform in the sports world has become more and more popular, and Richardson’s case led many to question why athletes are being punished for using a plant that’s increasingly being legalized for medical and recreational use.