Former NBA Commissioner David Stern has come out with what is already looking like one of the more controversial statements of the young season. According to the league's former head honcho, he believes that the NBA should at least look into legalizing the use of marijuana among its players for medicinal purposes.

Speaking to Jabari Young of CNBC, Stern explained that this perspective of his comes from a view that marijuana could potentially prove to be a more natural painkiller for players:

“In many cases in sports,” Stern said, “the opioid crisis begins with players being prescribed pills for their pain, and if there is another substance, whether it be CBD or THC that eases pain, then I’m all for it.”

Stern, of course, emphasized the dire need to strictly monitor the use of marijuana among players if the ban was removed:

“You don’t want players drinking beer at halftime,” Stern said. “And you don’t want them smoking joints at halftime. But if it’s a controlled usage and has a viable, legitimate use, why not?”

The league has been very strict with its current anti-drug policy, and has recently been cracking down on the implementation of the same. Three high-profile suspensions have been dealt out to Wilson Chandler, Deandre Ayton, and John Collins for their respective violations of the league's anti-doping rule.

There's no denying that Stern's statement here does make sense, but judging by the type of movement the NBA has undergone with regards to its strict stance against drugs, we just don't see this happening anytime soon.