“I have not thought or intend to bring banned substances to Russia, #plan #bring #banned #substances #Russia Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
American basketball star Brittney Griner has claimed that she had no intention of smuggling drugs into Russia and that she came to the country despite American warnings not to disappoint her Russian team.
Griner, a two-time Olympic basketball gold medalist and women’s NBA champion who had played in Russia, was arrested in February, just days before Moscow launched its offensive in Ukraine.
Griner was detained when she came to Russia to play club basketball at UMMC Ekaterinburg during the off-season in the US, a common occurrence for US stars looking for extra income.
She was charged with drug smuggling for possession of vaping cartridges containing cannabis oil and is on trial in the town of Khimki, just outside Moscow.
She pleaded guilty and faces up to 10 years in a Russian prison.
At her trial on Wednesday, July 27, Grinder said she still didn’t know how the cartridges ended up in her bag.
“I have not thought or plan to bring banned substances to Russia,” Griner said.
“I didn’t mean to break Russian law,” she added, saying she was “rushing packing.
She also said she “had no intention of” using a substance banned in Russia.
“I wouldn’t do anything that would harm my team.”
The 31-year-old WNBA star said she had permission from a US doctor to use medicinal cannabis to relieve the pain of her many injuries – “from spine to cartilage”.
“I was in a wheelchair for four months. I had a sprained ankle,” she says.
She said she used medicinal cannabis “only during breaks and when there are no competitions.”
“It helps me a lot,” she says.
Griner added that she didn’t want to take other painkillers because they have “very bad side effects.”
“My career is my whole life. I have dedicated everything, my body, time away from my family,” she said.
“I played with injuries. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my career.”