Warriors coach Steve Kerr made a surprising admission Friday that he recently smoked marijuana, which normally might draw some sort of unwanted attention from the league office, but this is a unique case.

Kerr told CSN Bay Area that he used the drug to help overcome the chronic back pain that hampered him the last two seasons and even interrupted his 2015-16 season.

“I guess that maybe I could get into some trouble for this, but I’ve actually tried it twice,” he said. “A lot of research, a lot of advice from people, and I have no idea if I would … maybe I would have failed a drug test. I don’t even know if I’m subject to a drug test or any laws from the NBA, but I tried it, and it didn’t help at all. But it was worth it because I’m searching for answers on pain. I’ve tried painkillers and drugs of other kinds as well, and those have been worse.”

Back surgery caused Kerr to miss the first half of last season and he’s still not totally cured, feeling discomfort on occasion.

The league takes a more hardened stance on performance-enhancing drugs and harder drugs such as cocaine, although marijuana is discouraged.

Kerr said he doesn’t use the drug recreationally and no longer uses it for medical purposes, either. But he told CSN that he’d like to see the league and other organizations become more aware and accepting in terms of medical marijuana use.

“Vicodin is not good for you,” he said. “It’s not. It’s way worse for you than pot.”