Culture
All 50 States Should Legalize The ‘Booming Business’ Of Marijuana, Brittney Griner Says
Brittney Griner, the professional basketball player who was previously incarcerated in Russia over possession of marijuana, says it’s time for cannabis to be legalized across the U.S., citing its role as a safer alternative to painkillers that athletes are commonly prescribed.
“At this point, I feel like all 50 states…just might as well” legalize marijuana, she said in an interview with Into The Mix, a podcast published by the ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s. “It’s a booming business. It’s bringing jobs into communities, bringing revenue into states. States legalize it, and you see the revenue that starts coming in behind it.”
The WNBA player also said cannabis has “benefits” for “people that are dealing with different illnesses and different things that are affecting their life”—with fewer side effects than many prescription drugs.
“I’ll speak for me. A lot of the pain pills that they want you to take and use have so many side effects and so much just takes you out of your character,” Griner said. “And for me, with all the injuries I’ve had, it’s helped me with being able to still be functional.”
Griner spent nearly 10 months in Russian jail after being caught at an airport with cannabis vapes that she used medically in accordance with Arizona state law. She was ultimately freed as part of a prisoner swap orchestrated by the Biden administration.
On the Ben & Jerry’s podcast, Griner spoke about the difficulties she experienced while behind bars in Russia, saying that people who are incarcerated in the U.S. also often face undignified and unsanitary conditions.
“These are the conditions that you would think would be not in our country, but they are definitely in our country,” she said. “And there’s people that are locked up on nonviolent cannabis charges in states where it’s been reversed, decriminalized, and they’re forced to be in these conditions.”
“No one should have to go through that,” Griner said. “And when I started to take a deeper dive into our judicial system and our prison system, I was just like, this is something that has to change. We have to figure out a way to to do something, bring awareness.”
“I’m trying so hard with my team to get people that are incarcerated right now on nonviolent cannabis charges where it is decriminalized out, because it’s a booming business and they’re going to make that money.”
Griner pulled out of an appearance at a cannabis event last year after discovering what she felt was a threatening message in her hotel room. Conference attendees had hoped to hear from the basketball star about the nature of her incarceration in Russia, which helped fuel international debate about cannabis prohibition laws domestically and abroad.
The WNBA, meanwhile, officially removed marijuana from its prohibited substances list earlier this year while also laying out rules for how players can invest in and promote cannabis companies.
Image element courtesy of Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia.
