sport news How medicinal cannabis saved Australian basketball legend Lauren Jackson from ... trends now

Aussie basketball legend Lauren Jackson just wanted to be able to go to the gym and pick up her kids again, but thanks to medicinal cannabis she's preparing to play in the World Cup an astonishing 25 years after making her debut.

At 41 years young, Jackson was lured out of international retirement in June ahead of the FIBA World Cup here in Australia, which begins on September 22. 

It's a fairytale return for Australia's greatest ever female basketball player - but it would not have been possible without medicinal cannabis.

Jackson's doctor, James Stewart, told Daily Mail Australia he is in awe of what she had been able to achieve since using medicinal cannabis to deal with the chronic, debilitating pain she had suffered from since retiring. 

'You can see she's (Jackson) so genuine that she never, ever would've thought of making a comeback,' he said.

'She never imagined she could get on the court again, let alone playing for Australia and playing how well she is. She's smashing it.

'Apart from from making the team, for her it was about being able to run around with her kids. Playing with them before [medicinal cannabis] was a struggle for her.'

Jackson, who was incredibly emotional when told by Opals coach Sandy Brondello that she made the team, said it never would have been possible without the help of Dr Stewart and treatment using extracts from the plant.

'Making an official return to the world stage in a sport that I love is just an incredible feeling,' said Jackson.

'I only made my return to the court just in April earlier this year and my treatment plan prior to playing again with medicinal cannabis plays a large part in my recovery from chronic pain.' 

Incredibly, Jackson made her international debut 25 years ago, with her last appearance prior to her retirement coming in 2013. She last played in a FIBA World Cup in 2010. 

The Aussie legend had no intentions of playing again competitively after having a partial replacement of her right knee and dealing with an ACL tear that was followed by a staph infection.

But a successful comeback playing NBL1 for her home town of Albury clearly reignited the passion within.

'I had finished playing basketball with painful ankles and was able to obtain a prescription through my doctor, which saw my ankles feel much better and allow me to gain more movement back to do more of the things I love,' said Jackson.

'It's been just incredible for my recovery.' 

Dr Stewart is one of Australia's leading medical minds espousing the benefits of cannabinoids - but despite athletes like Jackson breaking down a bit of the stigma, he said it's still an uphill battle to convince some of it's incredible benefits.

'I think that the sports stars and what Lauren are doing is just great to reduce the stigma because it's not our parents fault that they have this view of cannabis,' he said.

'It's what was pushed on them through the war on drugs, through all the media campaigns. And they just think that it sends you mad.

'So we're out there trying to just destigmatize that, to say it's very safe and it should be considered like someone taking a Panadol,' said Dr Stewart. 

The most widely studied and abundant cannabinoids are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC is

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