Marijuana in the NBA has always been a hot button issue as the league routinely tests players and its on the list of banned substances. Many current and former players have called for marijuana to be removed from the league's list of banned substances. One such player is Clifford Robinson, who played for 18 years and now openly admits that he used marijuana during his career.

In retirement, Robinson has been a vocal advocate for the use of marijuana and during a speech at the annual Cannabis Science Conference, the former Trail Blazers sixth man explained how using cannabis helped him throughout his career.

“If you play 18 years in the NBA and perform over an 82-game schedule, you’re going to deal with anxiety issues and your ability to relax,” Robinson said, via the Las Vegas Sun. “Cannabis has always helped me with that."

Robinson's view on the benefits of marijuana are also shared by Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who in 2016 admitted to trying to use cannabis to help him deal with his nagging back pain.

"I guess maybe I could even get in some trouble for this, but I've actually tried [marijuana] twice during the last year and a half when I've been going through this pain, this chronic pain that I've been dealing with," Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole on the "Warriors Insider" podcast in 2016.

"A lot of research, a lot of advice from people, and I have no idea if I would -- maybe I would have failed a drug test. I don't even know if I'm subject to a drug test or any laws from the NBA, but I tried it, and it didn't help at all. But it was worth it, because I'm searching for answers on pain. But I've tried painkillers and drugs of other kinds, as well, and those have been worse. It's tricky."

Also like Robinson, Kerr believes that marijuana is better than prescription pain medications.

"I would hope so, and I'm not a pot person," Kerr said. "It doesn't agree with me. I tried it a few times, and it did not agree with me at all. So I'm not the expert on this stuff. But I do know this: If you're an NFL player, in particular, and you got lot of pain, I don't think there's any question that pot is better for your body than Vicodin," Kerr, 51, said. "And yet, athletes everywhere are prescribed Vicodin like it's Vitamin C, like it's no big deal. And there's like this perception in our country that over-the-counter drugs are fine but pot is bad. Now, I think that's changing.

"You're seeing that change in these laws that you're talking about in different states, including California. But I would just hope that sports leagues are able to look past the perception. I'm sure the NFL is worried that their fans are going to go, 'All the players are potheads.'"