Charles Barkley found himself in hot water with the NBA in quite a few different ways during his career, but never with drugs. During an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Barkley revealed it wasn’t something that he ever got into.
“I’ve done stupid things,” Barkley said. “I never got into the drug thing.”
Host Dan Patrick asked Barkley if he had smoked marijuana before, and he admitted he had done it a handful of times.
“Yeah, five times,” Barkley said. “I don’t understand it. My friends keep trying to get me to smoke pot. I smoked pot like five times. It just make me want potato chips. It doesn’t do anything for me, Dan. And my friends love it, and I say, ‘Yo, y’all can do it. I’m just not gonna do it.’
“But pot does nothing for me,” Barkley stated. “I just don’t understand it. I think I’ve maybe done it maybe four, five times at the most. And they’re like, ‘You gotta try this, this, whatever.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, where the ladies, potato chips, and Pringles at?’
“But I’ve never got involved in drugs,” Barkley continued. “I probably did some stupid stuff with women, for sure.”
Barkley added that he didn’t judge his teammates who did do drugs. While marijuana didn’t interest him the least bit, he admitted he did drink a lot. He very much had a drinking problem, but that no longer seems to be the case now.
While the NBA has never prohibited the consumption of alcohol, marijuana was a banned substance at one point. The league lifted the ban in 2023 under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Kevin Durant claimed he had pushed for marijuana to be taken off the banned substances list. Durant also hilariously revealed he was high when he had gone into his meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver to discuss the subject.
Charles Barkley Almost Tried Cocaine Once
While the NBA no longer prohibits the consumption of marijuana, cocaine is still on that banned list and rightfully so. It’s something everyone should steer away from, but Barkley admitted during an appearance on Club Shay Shay that he nearly tried it once.
“I almost did cocaine one time,” Barkley said. “I had put my brother in a bunch of rehabs, and I was like, ‘What’s the f*** up with this s***?’ And I talked to one of my boys, I says, ’Yo man, I want you to get me some cocaine.’ And he says, ‘Charles, you f***ing nuts’. I says, ’Man, my brother, he gonna die at some point and I ain’t never had something so strong that I would give up the NBA or my money saying, ‘I gotta do drugs.’”
Bakley’s younger brother Darryl passed away in 2009 due to a heart attack, aged just 42. He had battled substance abuse for much of his life, and Barkley considered trying cocaine to see why his brother couldn’t just get over it. Fortunately, his friend ensured he didn’t take that step.
