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Larry Sanders, Marijuana And The NBA’s Anti-Drug Policy

By Gerald Bourguet

Nov 21, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders (8) against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Bucks 124-83. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders (8) against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Bucks 124-83. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Larry Sanders
Nov 21, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders (8) against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Bucks 124-83. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2014-15 NBA season has become a career-defining moment for Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders. The only problem is that definition grows exponentially murkier with each new headline.

The latest headline graced Twitter feeds Friday afternoon: Sanders had been suspended for 10 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy after failing a drug test.

As Adi Joseph of USA TODAY Sports points out, a 10-game suspension could mean one of two things. It’s possible that Sanders was suspended for a performance enhancing drug, an offense that comes with an automatic 10-game suspension.

But Sanders has also been suspended in the past for marijuana use, missing five games last season due to his third failed test. The anti-drug policy calls for a suspension of five games more than the previous suspension for repeat offenders, so this 10-game suspension is likely due to marijuana use once again.

The last time Sanders was suspended for smoking pot, social media opinions ignited quicker than a Michael Beasley blunt, and this time was no different. Is Sanders a victim or a fool? Should he be pitied or chastised? And should NBA players be allowed to smoke pot recreationally?

There are no easy answers, and marjiuana use is a delicate, hotly debated subject. But in the interest of adding clarity to an issue that is sure to become an ongoing saga, it’s time to tackle pot and its relation to the NBA.

Next: The Changing Perception Of Marijuana

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