A List of Popular Figures Who Use Medical Cannabis
From former U.S. President Barack Obama and late-night talk show comedian Stephen Colbert to pop superstars like Rihanna, Madonna, and Lady Gaga, advocates for cannabis legalization are constantly in the spotlight. Check out Peninsula Alternative Health’s list of the most influential cannabis advocates:
Bob Marley. The late Jamaican singer, songwriter and musician spent his career advocating for uncorrupt politics and the spiritual healing powers of cannabis. He said in a video interview, “Rum teach you to get drunker; herb teach you to be someone.”
In 2014, Marley’s family teamed up with private equity firm Privateer Holdings to release the world’s first international cannabis brand, called Marley Natural,Micpreviously reported.
Frances McDormand. The Almost Famous and Fargo actress has been a voice for medical cannabis for years. In a 2003interview with High Times, she said, “From a medical point of view — I have friends who need to use it — why should they have to look too hard for the thing that makes them better? So from that point of view, it’s like, ‘Please, what is the problem?’”
Jennifer Aniston. The Friends alum spoke to Rolling Stone as reported by Daily Mail, noting that she sees “nothing wrong” with cannabis. “I enjoy it once in awhile,” she said. “There is nothing wrong with that. Everything in moderation.”
Kirsten Dunst. The Spiderman actress told AskMen that the world would be a “better place” if everyone used cannabis and considered the United States’ current drug policy “ridiculous.”
Lester Grinspoon. The former Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School’s son, Danny, was diagnosed in with leukemia in 1967. Grinspoon heard of an alternative treatment and administered doses of cannabis to his ailing son, according to The Cannabist.
The treatment was so successful at eliminating chemotherapy side effects that Danny used it until he passed. Many credit the Grinspoons for the first step in studying medical cannabis as an anti-nausea medication.
Montel Williams. The television personality has lived with multiple sclerosis for more than 15 years and has used his platform to educate audiences on the benefits of medical cannabis and champions CNN’s top Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s heralding of cannabis. He evenhelped consult a Sacramento dispensary start-up.
Morgan Freeman. The actor legendary for his deep, iconic voice has used it to the advantage of cannabis advocacy. Freeman uses medical cannabis for chronic pain from fibromyalgia, often noting that it’s the only medication that offers relief.
“This movement is really a long time coming, and it’s getting legs,” he told the Daily Beast in 2015.
Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong. Before Seth Rogen and James Franco’s Pineapple Express, comedy duo Cheech and Chong paved the way for cannabis to be humorously included in Hollywood. From the1970s to the early 1980s, the pair released films based on adventures around marijuana, including Up In Smoke in 1978.
Chong released marijuana products, such as clothing wipes to remove the cannabis stench, in hopes of becoming the “Sam Walton,” the founder of Walmart, of cannabis, according toForbes.
Snoop Dogg. The rapper has long been famously vocal about the legalization of cannabis for recreational and medical use. “It’s from the Earth — it’s not...man-made...” Snoop Dogg told GQ in 2012. “It’s actually growing from the ground straight to you, so it’s just like eating a vegetable.”
By 2015, he put his name on cannabis-centered digital media companyMerry Jane, and he released his own line of marijuana called Leafs by Snoop and branded vape pens through Grenco Science.
Susan Sarandon. The veteran actress has turned Hollywood on its head when it comes to advocating for cannabis. In 2014, The Cannabist reported that Sarandon said, “It will be legal everywhere, and that will cause a very interesting tipping point.”
Willie Nelson. The country music legend is a pioneer in cannabis advocacy. Like Marley Natural, Nelson has his own line of marijuana products called Willie’s Reserve in partnership with private equity firm Tuatara Capital, according to Yahoo Lifestyle.
Woody Harrelson. The actor protested the U.S. cannabis prohibition in the mid-90s by wearing hemp clothing and planting hemp seeds in Kentucky. In the early 2000s, he was the keynote speaker at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Conference; narrated cannabis documentary Grass; and was featured in Go Further for his natural lifestyle of raw foods, yoga, and cannabis.
He appeared in the 2012 documentary Hempsters: Plant the Seed and applied for a medical cannabis dispensary license in Hawaii in 2016.
For more information about medical cannabis, contact the experts at Peninsula Alternative Health in Salisbury, Maryland.