An exemption to continue using medicinal cannabis will be key after Lauren Jackson opened the door to an incredible World Cup basketball comeback as a 41-year-old later this year.
Arguably the best female player in history, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member, three-time WNBA MVP and 2006 world champion with the Opals was forced into retirement with chronic knee pain in 2016.
But the 40-year-old has found relief since trialling medicinal cannabis and is a major advocate of the treatment that has coaxed her out of retirement to play for her hometown team Albury-Wodonga Bandits in the second-tier NBL1 from 2 April.
Set to play out of the stadium named after her, Jackson said she had applied for a therapeutic use exemption but would have to stop if denied.
“That’s been critical in my ability to recover and come back, just the way I’ve been training has helped me a lot,” she said. “I’m really thankful I got on that trial and I’ll explore my options to get that exemption.
“The last few games, there was so much pain and that ended my career right there, but I don’t feel that anymore.”
How she handles the grind of competitive basketball again will determine Jackson’s next step, with the NBL1’s season running into August and the ideal build-up to September’s Fiba World Cup in Sydney.
The news of her return comes with Liz Cambage’s Opals career seemingly over, the WNBA centre declaring she had “zero” interest in the program after her late…
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An exemption to continue using medicinal cannabis will be key after Lauren Jackson opened the door to an incredible World Cup basketball comeback as a 41-year-old later this year.
Arguably the best female player in history, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member, three-time WNBA MVP and 2006 world champion with the Opals was forced into retirement with chronic knee pain in 2016.
But the 40-year-old has found relief since trialling medicinal cannabis and is a major advocate of the treatment that has coaxed her out of retirement to play for her hometown team Albury-Wodonga Bandits in the second-tier NBL1 from 2 April.
Set to play out of the stadium named after her, Jackson said she had applied for a therapeutic use exemption but would have to stop if denied.
“That’s been critical in my ability to recover and come back, just the way I’ve been training has helped me a lot,” she said. “I’m really thankful I got on that trial and I’ll explore my options to get that exemption.
“The last few games, there was so much pain and that ended my career right there, but I don’t feel that anymore.”
How she handles the grind of competitive basketball again will determine Jackson’s next step, with the NBL1’s season running into August and the ideal build-up to September’s Fiba World Cup in Sydney.
The news of her return comes with Liz Cambage’s Opals career seemingly over, the WNBA centre declaring she had “zero” interest in the program after her late…
