Count Stephen Jackson in as one of the guys who wants to see the NBA legalize marijuana. Jackson, who has previously admitted to smoking weed, recently told TMZ, "I smoked my whole career, had a hell of a career."
The 14-year NBA veteran is just one of many former and current players, coaches and executives who have advocated for the league to remove marijuana from the banned substance list.
"I think they should take it off, why not?" Jackson told TMZ Sports. "I smoked my whole career, had a hell of a career."
Although Jackson told TMZ he never smoked before games, that contradicts a statement he made back in July during an appearance on Michael Rapaport's "I Am Rapaport: Stereo Podcast."
Jackson said some days he felt it helped his performance, while other times he found himself shooting over the backboard and trying to calm himself down on the bench.
He told Rapaport (via CBS Sports):
"I can't speak for nobody else," Jackson said. "Me personally, I've done a lot of shit before games sometimes and still was out there to go out there and be productive. I just gotta be real, you know, it's been a couple games where I smoked before games and had great games. It's been some games where I smoked before the game and was on the bench after three minutes, sitting on the sideline, saying, 'Please calm down, this high has to calm down.' I done shot three shots that went over the backboard."