Warriors’ Steve Kerr takes up torch for marijuana to help manage pain

Steve Kerr. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Somewhat lost in the Golden State Warriors’ run to a league-record 73 wins last season was the fact that Coach Steve Kerr missed the first 39 of them. Kerr sat out roughly five months recovering from multiple back surgeries after the Warriors won the NBA championship in 2015. On Friday, while discussing his recovery, Kerr became the latest high-profile sports figure to advocate for the use of marijuana as a way to deal with chronic pain.

“I guess maybe I can even get in some trouble for this, but I’ve actually tried it twice during the last year and a half, when I’ve been going through this chronic pain that I’ve been dealing with,” Kerr told The Warriors Insider Podcast on Friday. “[After] a lot of research, a lot of advice from people and I have no idea if maybe I would have failed a drug test. I don’t even know if I’m subject to a drug test or any laws from the NBA.”

Kerr’s stance comes after trying several different types of painkillers to manage not lingering pain in his back and frequent headaches. He believes that Vicodin, a common painkiller that “athletes everywhere are prescribed . . . like it’s vitamin C, like it’s no big deal,” is not an answer.

“I know enough, especially over the last…