Why Morgan Freeman Thinks Marijuana Should Be Legalized

Marijuana legalization has been a hot topic lately and many celebrities have used their status in the media to vocalize their own thoughts on the matter. There are those we’ve grown accustomed to speaking loud and proud of their marijuana use (Snoop Dogg anyone?) but then there are those that to some may seem unexpected. One in particular is Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman who just pretty much destroyed the argument against legalizing weed.
In sitting down with The Daily Beast to discuss Freeman’s newest film 5 Flights Up, the actor opened up about his own use of marijuana as well as his support for the movement to legalize it. Freeman, who suffered a serious injury in a car accident years ago is in a great deal of pain. And marijuana has been the only thing that offers him relief. Freeman is a long time user of weed though, and he says this movement towards legalization has been a long time coming. But the biggest problem is that people need to realize that alcohol has no medicinal use, while marijuana does.
Marijuana has many useful uses. I have fibromyalgia pain in this arm, and the only thing that offers any relief is marijuana. They’re talking about kids who have grand mal seizures, and they’ve discovered that marijuana eases that down to where these children can have a life. That right there, to me, says, ‘Legalize it across the board!’
Clearly marijuana has played an important role in Freeman’s later success. Since, as he puts it, is the only thing truly able to help ease the pain in his arm. Without that relief, who knows whether or not the actor could still be going strong with his film career. But, aside from his own personal use of the drug, he makes a particularly solid point in pointing out the negative effects of weed, where he finds none. Freeman recalls the peaceful Woodstock vs. its less marijuana-friendly 30th-anniversary event where riots broke out:
And what negative effects does it have? Look at Woodstock 1969. They said, ‘We’re not going to bother them or say anything about smoking marijuana,’ and not one problem or fight. Then look at what happened in ’99.
So what it comes down to for Morgan Freeman is not just his own personal enjoyment of weed, but the proof that prohibition doesn’t work. Whether or not you agree with using the drug, you have to admit Freeman makes a solid point. And if marijuana is helping him to keep on acting, then we can’t be upset about that.
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