Steve Kerr voices support for legalization of marijuana in California

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr smiles after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 25, 2017. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr smiles after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 25, 2017. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 25 Caption Close Steve Kerr voices support for legalization of marijuana in California 1 / 25 Back to Gallery

A day after California became the sixth U.S. state to legalize recreational marijuana, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr voiced his support for the new law.

“I’m a proponent of it,” Kerr said after practice Tuesday. “I do feel strongly that (marijuana) is a much better option than some of the prescription drugs, and I know that it’s helping a lot of people, which is great.”

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Kerr, who has tried marijuana twice in hopes of relieving pain from complications stemming from back surgery, has advocated for the NBA to allow players to use cannabis for medicinal purposes for more than a year. Though the drug did little to alleviate his nagging pain, he still considers it a better option than some commonly prescribed opioids like Vicodin and OxyContin.

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“Having gone through a tough spell over the last year with my own recovery from back surgery, and a lot of pain, I had to do a lot of research,” Kerr said in December 2016. “You get handed prescriptions for Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet, NFL players, that’s what they’re given. The stuff is awful. The stuff is dangerous. The addiction possibility, what it can lead to, the long-term health risks. The issue that’s really important is how do we do what’s best for the players.

“But I understand it’s a perception issue around the country. And in the NFL, NBA, it’s a business, so you don’t want your customers thinking, ‘These guys are a bunch of potheads.’ That’s what it is. But, to me, it’s only a matter of time before medicinal marijuana is allowed in sports leagues, because the education will overwhelm the perception.”

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron