Brittney Griner’s lawyers say she had a doctor’s note for the drug she mistakenly carried into Russia.
Brittney Griner’s lawyers argued on Friday that the American basketball star had a doctor’s note recommending the drug that she mistakenly carried into Russia, where she has been detained for nearly five months amid Moscow’s escalating tensions with Washington over the war in Ukraine.

As Ms. Griner’s trial on drug charges resumed at a courtroom outside Moscow, her defense team provided medical documents showing that she had a medical note recommending cannabis for chronic pain, according to Reuters.

The Russian authorities accused Ms. Griner in February of having two vape cartridges with hashish oil — a cannabis derivative — in her luggage at an airport near Moscow. The 31-year-old Phoenix Mercury star and two-time Olympic gold medalist had traveled there to play with UMMC Yekaterinburg, a Russian team, during the W.N.B.A. off-season.