Blake Griffin on use of medical marijuana in NBA: 'I just think it makes sense'

Blake Griffin averaged a career high 24.1 points this season in helping to lead the Clippers to a No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. (Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images)

Blake Griffin said in a Rolling Stone interview this week that he would support the use of medical marijuana in the NBA in part because it would ween players off of traditional prescription painkillers.

The 25-year-old four-time All-Star spoke candidly on the subject and said if he had to vote on whether the league should allow it for medicinal purposes, he would vote in favor of the measure:

"It doesn't really affect me, but so many guys would probably benefit from it and not take as many painkillers, which have worse long-term effects. So I would vote yes. I just think it makes sense."

The comments come just a few weeks after Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders said after receiving a five-game suspension in April for violating the league's drug policy that he supports the legalization of marijuana. Sanders even said that "in a lot of ways we’ve been deprived" by not making it legal. In January, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is considering legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, specifically to deal with concussions, but later admitted that the current league policy which bans the drug is unlikely to change.

Griffin, an Oklahoma native, missed the Clippers season finale on Wednesday --  a 110-104 loss in Portland to the Trail Blazers -- because he had received his 16th technical of the season the previous game; the league mandates automatic one-game suspensions for any player who receives 16 technicals in a season. The Clippers are set for a first round matchup against the No. 6 seed Golden State Warriors, which gets underway in Los Angeles on Saturday.

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