© Kyle Terada | 2019 Nov 27
Klay Thompson — along with fellow professional athletes Alex Morgan (soccer), Travis Pastrana (motorsports) and Paul Rodriguez (skateboarding) — is launching a CBD brand called Just Live. Thompson becomes the first active NBA player to start such an endeavor, something he was inspired to do after using CBD — an active, but non psychoactive ingredient in cannabis — to aid in recovery from his torn ACL.
“After being injured and with what I want to do with the rest of my career and how I want to prepare myself off the court, you want to take more organic and natural ways of healing instead of in the past, whether it was opioids or some kind of prescribed medicines prepared for me,” Thompson told The Undefeated. “It’s organic. It’s a natural way with CBD. I think in a way that is the future.”
CBD is gaining popularity as a natural alternative to painkillers, which often have a myriad of negative side effects, and can be extremely addictive, two things that are not present with CBD.
“The stigma behind it has always been it’s a drug or something you are smoking,” Klay continued. “But it comes in so many forms. The NBA is pretty progressive, as it’s shown over the summer with social justice and in other aspects. The NBA is leading by example by being progressive-minded. It’s great for sport. There are so many natural properties. It doesn’t have to be smoked. It can be applied as cream or used as pills, and it has hot-cold remedies as lotion. It’s a natural way of healing.
“It’s pretty cool for the NBA. Not only in basketball, but in other sports guys are dependent on alcohol, opioids, or painkillers or some type of drug that doesn’t often help. You can take this naturally, and it applies to any athlete in the NBA from any demographic as a great natural way to relieve pain and enjoy a nice night of sleep.”
Thompson has said he’s fully recovered from the torn ACL and will be ready to return to the court whenever the next NBA season starts.