Portland Trail Blazers guard Terrel Harris has been suspended for five games "for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program," the league announced Monday . Harris, who turns 26 on Aug. 10, joined the Blazers in July after finishing last season with the New Orleans Hornets. The newly christened Pelicans made Harris a late addition to the three-team deal that imported Tyreke Evans and rookie center Jeff Withey, sent Greivis Vasquez to the Sacramento Kings and shipped Robin Lopez and Harris to Portland. Sacramento also got a future second-round draft pick from Portland in the swap. The league's announcement didn't identify the substance for which Harris tested positive. Based on the penalty structure laid out in the joint anti-drug policy, though, it seems unlikely it was a steroid or performance-enhancing drug — players who test positive for a so-called "SPED" get a 20-game suspension for their first violation. (Hey, there, Hedo .) Ditto for what the policy defines as "drugs of abuse" — a list that includes, but is not limited to, methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine, GHB, LSD, ketamine, PCP, benzodiazepines and opiates — because those carry immediate dismissal and disqualification from the NBA. The policy's section on discipline does, however, include this passage: If a player tests positive for marijuana, or if he is convicted of, or pleads guilty to, the use or possession of marijuana, he will be required to submit to treatment, counseling, and aftercare testing in the Program. A second violation will result in a $25,000 fine, and any subsequent violations will result in a suspension that is 5 games longer than the player’s immediately-preceding marijuana suspension. So, there's that. NBA players are subject to six random tests each season and offseason — four during the season and two in the offseason. They may also be subject to "reasonable cause testing," triggered when an "Independent Expert" decides there's reasonable cause to test a player for a banned substance — that player is then subject to four extra random tests over a six-week span.
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