Lauren Jackson credits medicinal cannabis for basketball comeback

Sporting star Lauren Jackson has thrown her support behind medicinal marijuana, saying it helped her get healthy enough to return to playing basketball.

Some of the country’s best known sport stars including professional basketball player Lauren Jackson have thrown their support behind medicinal cannabis, with Jackson crediting the substance with her revival.

Jackson, former AFL player and coach Alastair Clarkson and top jockey Damien Oliver are among the well-known names who are determined to remove the stigma from medicinal cannabis, signing on as ambassadors for sports science company, Levin Health.

Basketball player Lauren Jackson has revealed she is using medicinal cannabis to treat her sport ailments. Picture: Richard Dobson

Jackson told Saturday Confidential she has been using it for seven months and said it’s been critical in her ability to come back.

“It has really helped my body in terms of the recovery process and I haven’t had to rely on harsher medications to get me to this point physically,” the 41-year-old said.

“It’s been a good anti-inflammatory medication for me. To this point CBD oil has really helped me and supported me because I haven’t needed other medications to deal with chronic pain from my playing days.”

While Clarkson doesn’t use medicinal cannabis himself, he knows of many current and former players who struggle to live their day-to-day lives following years of sporting injuries.

“All the research is indicating that medicinal cannabis is going to have a significant impact in this space, it just needs to be morally legitimised,” he said.

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