Al Harrington Says NBA Will 'Eventually' Follow MLB's Lead and Allow Weed

Here's a shocker ... Al Harrington is STOKED that weed is now legal in MLB, telling TMZ Sports it's about time baseball players can LEGALLY use pot to treat pain.

The former NBA player is a HUGE marijuana advocate -- he even has his own Viola cannabis company -- and has met with powerful figures (like ex-NBA commish David Stern) in the hopes of ending the weed ban in major pro sports.

So, when Major League Baseball finally removed weed from its list of banned substances, Harrington called it a "beautiful thing" that will make the sport safer.

"Athletes should have access to cannabis as an alternative way to medicate and for pain management across the board," Harrington says.

One of the motivating factors in MLB's decision is the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs --  who died from an overdose of painkillers -- fentanyl and oxycodone.

The logic is that if Skaggs could have used marijuana, he might not have used opioids.