Inside the ongoing Cannabis Vape Detainment Saga of Brittany Griner
WNBA star held in Russia is now playing the waiting game.
In the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War, cannabis has come up in some of the unlikeliest places, such as the Ukrainian evacuee that told a foreign Sky TV correspondent that he was fine because “I smoke weed. Legalize. 420.” However, it has also been used as the pretext to detain WNBA member and center for the Phoenix Mercury Brittany Griner, as she was entering into Russia on February 17th, just a week before its invasion began in earnest. Accused of smuggling cannabis vape cartridges into the country before boarding a flight, Griner may face a decade in prison if convicted. With US-Russian relations “nonexistent” at the moment, to quote CA Representative John Garamendi, her release and repatriation promises to be complicated and uncertain.
While possession of up to six grams of flower is treated as an administrative offense for native Russians, punishable with only a fine or a maximum of 15 days in prison, smuggling for foreign nationals is treated quite differently. In 2020, an Israeli-American named Naama Issachar was arrested for nine grams of flower on a layover between India and Israel, and later sentenced to seven years of prison. Putin himself had to pardon her after Netanyahu personally got involved. And Issachar insisted that the drugs weren’t hers, and that she had been conned into signing her confession, which was written in Russian.
In addition, the family of Trevor Reed, a US Marine sentenced to nine years for drunken conduct and violence against Russian police officers, expressed strong doubt that Griner, who has been in Russia since at least January playing for the basketball team UMMC Ekaterinberg, would have been carrying cannabis vapes with her. This sentiment was echoed by her former high school coach. “It’s just hard to believe that Brittney, or any professional athlete that knows the laws of that country and the cultural differences and norms and just the completely different political system, would even think about putting in their carry-on bag something that was a banned substance in that country,” she told the New York Times.
Whether or not Griner was carrying cannabis vapes with her or not, cannabis advocacy groups have lined up to show their support and call for her swift release. Samuel Richards of the Arizona Dispensaries Association, where Griner plays, said, “We are hoping for Brittney Griner’s safe and speedy return home. No one should be afraid to travel as a cannabis consumer. It is past time for everyone around the world-- including the US and Russia-- to end their outdated bans on cannabis. We will continue fighting these laws that needlessly put too many people in prison.” In addition, the Marijuana Policy Project released a statement which read in part, “We, like the entire country, are monitoring the situation in Russia regarding Brittney Griner and join many others in calling for her swift and safe return home. While we don’t have direct knowledge of this particular situation, it is not uncommon for athletes to use these oils for their physical and mental health, and they should not be penalized or stigmatized for doing so. Simple cannabis possession should never be cause for international geopolitics, as we are seeing play out in this case. After weeks of detention amid an increasingly uncertain and dangerous political environment, Brittney needs to be safely returned home as soon as humanly possible.” And the drug reform organization Drug Policy Alliance, which has supported many of the foundational medical cannabis ballot initiatives since California’s landmark Prop 215 in 1996, tweeted, “No one should be detained or criminalized for drug possession. No one should be used as a political pawn. We are hoping for Brittney’s safe return home.”
As an athlete, Griner is particularly high-profile — a three-time All-American with two gold medals, acknowledged as “the best offensive player in the league,” according to New York Magazine. Playing during the WNBA off-season in countries like the Ukraine, however, has been standard practice for players like Griner, as they can make several times more than their WNBA salary by doing so. However, those competitions have been replaced by a game of wait-and-see.
Learn More: The Case for Cannabis in Sports Medicine