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On the court, Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters is known for an intimidating amount of confidence and swagger. But even the strongest athletes are no match for the wrong dose of edibles.
According to a report from ESPN, Waiters received medical attention late last week after having an adverse reaction to THC-infused edibles aboard the Miami Heat’s private team plane en route from Phoenix to Los Angeles. The incident is now being characterized as a cannabis-induced panic attack, despite initial reports that Waiters had “overdosed on gummies.”
UPDATE: Dion Waiters is the Heat player who had medical emergency on team plane, I’ve confirmed.
Waiters overdosed on “gummies,” sources say, and was passed out when plane landed.
He had a seizure when he was finally woken up, I’m told.
Waiters was listed out tonight (illness)
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) November 9, 2019
Waiters had missed the Heat’s Thursday night match-up against the Phoenix Suns with a stomach ache, but still traveled with the team to Los Angeles, where the Heat were scheduled to play the Lakers on Friday night. On the short plane ride, sources told ESPN that Waiters took a cannabis edible to try and settle his stomach. But as anyone who has ever eaten an unfamiliar edible knows, THC gummies are hard to dose, and pack a punch that can quickly become overwhelming, especially at 30,000 feet above ground.
The NBA explicitly bans all players from using cannabis for both medicinal and recreational purposes, but that hasn’t stopped significant portions of the league from sparking up — or chomping gummies — behind closed doors. Players are subject to as many as four random drug tests each season, but reports indicate that many players return to their regularly scheduled pot consumption once those screenings are done.
Gallery — Athletes Who Are Down with the Sweet Leaf:
Back in Los Angeles, the Heat fell to the Lakers Friday night without Waiters’ help. And as the story continued to unfold through the weekend, team officials began to suspect that Waiters had been given the unfamiliar edible by a teammate. But while coaches and team leaders urged Waiters to give up his gummy dealer, the Philadelphia native refused to fess up.
Thanks to his mid-fight freak out and subsequent reluctance to snitch, The Heat have suspended Waiters for the next 10 games, citing “conduct detrimental to the team.” The high flying shooting guard already missed games earlier this season thanks to a team-imposed suspension after he aired some dirty laundry on social media. It is not yet clear if Waiters will receive further punishment from the league itself, or if he’ll face more frequent drug tests in the wake of the edibles incident.
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