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Cliff Robinson played 18 seasons in the NBA, the first eight with Portland.

(The Oregonian)

Former Portland Trail Blazers forward and NBA All-Star Clifford Robinson, known during his playing days as Uncle Cliffy, is getting into a new game and going by a new name.

Uncle Spliffy.

Robinson, who played eight seasons with the Blazers, is joining Oregon's recreational marijuana business with plans to open a Portland-based grow operation, according to the Portland Business Journal. He hopes to have product, which would include topicals and rubs, ready by the end of the year.

"Oregon has always been known for good cannabis, and it's an exciting time to be here," he told the Portland Business Journal. "I'm excited to be part of a team that's doing it the right way."

A passionate cannabis advocate, Robinson will be a featured speaker at the 2016 Cannabis Collaborative Conference, held next month (Feb. 3 and 4) at the Portland Expo Center. He hopes to spread the message about the healing benefits provided by marijuana as an alternative to more addictive prescription drugs.

"Cannabis is definitely a more positive alternative to pharmaceuticals at the end of the day," says Robinson. "Those are synthetics. I'm talking about something that's natural that can bring the outcomes you're looking for, be it for muscle tension or relaxation or preparedness. There are a whole lot of different things that are beneficial."