Whether it’s substance abuse, a performance enhancing drug or continued violations of the procedures, the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program and guidelines are in place so that when players violate the terms of that agreement, they are suspended, dismissed, disqualified, and punished without pay.

According to the league’s guidelines, an NBA player may be suspended (officially “dismissed and disqualified”) from the league in a few ways. The two primary ways that a player can be dismissed from the league is when a player tests positive for a drug of abuse or if that player is convicted of or pleads guilty to the use, possession or distribution of a drug of abuse. When a player is suspended under the program, they have to ensure that they live up to procedural guidelines set forth by the program, and if they don’t they can be punished further.

To be clear, thanks to an agreement reached between the players association and the league;  the NBA will no longer test or suspend players for marijuana use including Delta-8 and CBD.

How Many NBA Players Have Been Suspended Due to Drugs?

Since the 1980’s there’s been dozens of players that have been dismissed and disqualified by the NBA for players that have ran afoul of the policy. Some of the bigger names include former NBA all-star Micheal Ray Richardson and up-and-coming player like Roy Tarpley. More recent examples of players that were banned for a significant amount of time are Tyreke Evans, O.J. Mayo, Chris Andersen and Richard Dumas.

History of NBA Players Banned from the NBA

The NBA really began officially evolving and enforcing their Anti-Drug policy in the mid-1980’s. That’s why you see more of the drastic suspensions during that decade. Specifically, four players were banned across the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons. Starting in January 1986 when John Drew became the first player banned for life under the NBA’s anti-drug contract, The next month Micheal Ray Richardson of the New Jersey Nets was banned permanently after three violations of the league’s drug policy then in January 1987 Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins of the Houston Rockets both received significant suspensions.

A few years later, players like Roy Tarpley and Richard Dumas struggled to stay within the NBA’s guidelines and were suspended multiple times before finally being banned. In 1991, both Tarpley and Dumas were suspended violating the NBA’s substance abuse policy.

Tarpley was reinstated two years later in 1994 but then was permanently banned (again) from the league again in 1995 for using alcohol. Dumas took a similar path. He was again suspended in 1993 after he tested positive for a banned substance and failing to participate in a drug rehabilitation program. Like Tarpley, Dumas was reinstated in 1995 but was also banned for violating a clause in his contract which prohibited him from consuming alcohol. Tarpley passed away at the age of 50 from liver failure.

Unfortunately, players that have been banned or suspended historically have greater odds of returning to the NBA even when they’re reinstated. That’s further emphasized if you consider that the average NBA playing career in five years. Sitting out 2-3 seasons not only is a huge detriment to your physical abilities, but players come back with a reputation. Take, for example, players like Mayo and Mitch McGary both of whom never got back onto the NBA court. Stanley Roberts, Darius Miles and Larry Sanders played one more season after their suspensions. Four time NBA All-Star Richardson ended up playing the rest of his career in Europe.

The NBA/NBPA Adjusts Anti-Drug Policy for the Times

Since the spate of banned-for-life suspensions in from 1986-1991, the NBA’s Anti-Drug agreement has evolved with the times; from a relatively strict reading of the policy to a case-by-case basis with a deeper understanding of the different categories and severity. That’s because the times (and the drugs) have changed. Not only is the use of recreational marijuana becoming legal throughout the country, but there’s also phentermine and dehydroepiandrosterone. Those new categories of drugs of abuse and performance enhancing steroids requires a different eye. In other words, it’s no longer just cocaine problem impacting half the league.

An example of how the league has evolved on their stance, here’s what current and former NBA commissioners had to say about marijuana

“My personal view is that (marijuana) should be regulated.” Silver said. “In the same way that other medications are if the plan is to use it for pain management.” And here’s former NBA Commissioner David Stern “I’m now at the point where, personally, I think it probably should be removed from the banned list.” Stern told Al Harrington on Uninterrupted.

We know that posts like this can be viewed as a completely negative view of the league, so we’d like to give big respect to the NBA players, the vast majority of whom understand what’s acceptable and not acceptable under the policy. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, it seemed as if it was a indefinite ban from the league or nothing. Today, it’s more likely that if a player is suspended it’s for a handful of games than a life sentence.

To learn more about the NBA’s Anti-Drug Policy, the history and thresholds, go here.