Klay Thompson, Arrested For Marijuana Possession in College, Completely Against Recreational Use

Marijuana is still a taboo in America in 2016 so the Golden State Warriors have spent the last few days fielding questions about its various uses and legalities after Steve Kerr admitted to using it for back pain in the past. Yesterday it was Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Thompson supports his coach, but not recreational use. Via ESPN:

"“But not recreation use,” Klay Thompson said. “That should not be of its use ever, but there’s obviously a medicinal side to [marijuana] that people are finding out have benefits, especially people in really high pain.”"

Many will take issue with this because back in March 2011, Thompson, then the star of the Washington State Cougars basketball team, was arrested for marijuana possession. It might seem hypocritical for Thompson to take this stance, but it’s probably something a P.R. firm told him to take a long time ago. As Suns coach Earl Watson points out, marijuana can still cause a lot of problems. Via ESPN:

"“I’ve lived in that other life [of crime and drugs]. I’m from that area, so I’ve seen a lot of guys go through that experience of using it and doing other things with that were both illegal. And a lot of those times, those guys never make it to the NBA, they never make it to college, and somehow it leads to something else, and they never make it past 18. “So when we really talk about it and we open up that, I call it that slippery slope. We have to be very careful on the rhetoric and how we speak on it and how we express it and explain it to the youth.”"

For somebody like a star professional athlete, that single marijuana arrest is nothing. For a nobody that arrest could be a real problem. So until marijuana is completely decriminalized, expect some people to hedge in public. No matter what they do or think in private.