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Lawyers defending WNBA star Brittney Griner told judges at the Khimki court of the Moscow region Friday that Griner was prescribed medical cannabis for “severe chronic pain.”
Griner’s defense team submitted to the Russian court a letter from a US medical center issuing a permit in the state of Arizona for the use of medical cannabis for Griner to treat her chronic pain, caused by sports injuries.
“On May 18, 2020, Brittney Griner underwent a clinical examination…The patient complained of acute chronic pain due to multiple ankle injuries, as well as injuries and pain sustained during her sports career. The patient complained of pain in the middle back, lower back, knees, and ankle pain,” Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, said as she read out the letter in court.
Blagovolina submitted the letter as evidence along with medical test results from 2018, and a medical report by an American doctor from 2020 confirming Griner had “a chronic debilitating disease caused by severe chronic pain.”
The doctor advised his patient, Brittney Griner, the use of medical cannabis due to the diagnosed “chronic and debilitating medical condition” that ���caused chronic and acute pain,” according to Blagovolina.
Some background: Griner arrived at the Khimki court Friday for a fourth hearing in her trial, after pleading guilty to drug charges.
Her hearing Thursday ended without a verdict.
The two-time US Olympics basketball gold medalist was arrested February 17 at a Moscow airport, a week before Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian authorities said she had cannabis oil in her luggage and accused her of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance.
Thursday’s hearing came as many in the WNBA, along with other athletes, coaches and politicians, have called for Griner’s release over fears she is being used as a political pawn amid the war in Ukraine.
“We just want to make sure her name is out there, that people know her story,” Sue Bird, who played with Griner on Team USA, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday. “We want to support the administration. We want to make sure they’re doing everything they can. So some might call it a little bit of pressure, (but) we’re calling it support, and we just want to make sure her name is out there.”
CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin and Amir Vera contributed reporting to this post.
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