5 Celebrities Who Use Cannabis Therapeutically

As cannabis legalization has expanded and smoking has become less stigmatized, tons of celebrities have opened up about their marijuana use. 

Stars like Morgan Freeman and Seth Rogen have become outspoken cannabis advocates, and others like Wiz Khalifa and Willie Nelson have even launched their own cannabis brands. But celebrities aren’t just touting cannabis for its recreational uses. There’s a whole subset who are also open about how they’ve used the plant medicinally and therapeutically.

Many patients and healthcare providers recognize cannabis as a treatment for various medical conditions. Although state laws differ on which disorders qualify for medical use, common approved conditions include chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS. Cannabis-assisted therapy has also become increasingly popular in recent years for treating mental health conditions like anxiety, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

From these conditions to many, many more, here are TK celebrities who are open about their use of cannabis in the treatment of various medical and mental health conditions.

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg has been hard at work since she broke onto the scene in the early ‘80s. An Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony winner and the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for Humor, there’s a good chance you’ve seen her in something over the years, whether it’s as Sister Mary Clarence in “Sister Act” or as a co-host of the daytime talk show “The View.”

However, not many people know that the actor and TV personality suffers from glaucoma, a disease that damages the eye’s optic nerve and can eventually lead to blindness. 

In a column for The Denver Post’s former cannabis-focused website, The Cannabist, Goldberg opened up about how marijuana helped her manage her condition.

“The vape pen has changed my life,” Goldberg wrote. “No, I’m not exaggerating… with each sip comes relief — from pressure, pain, stress, discomfort.”

For Goldberg, her glaucoma-induced headaches “come on like freight trains.” Vaping, she said, helps “relax” and “calm” everything, allowing her to retain some semblance of a normal life. 

Morgan Freeman

Another highly decorated actor, Morgan Freeman’s career has spanned six decades. Odds are you’ve seen him in one of his 14 Oscar-nominated films, or heard his voice narrating documentaries like “March of the Penguins” or “Life on Our Planet.”

In 2008, Freeman was in a car accident that left him with nerve damage in his left arm. Doctors were able to save the limb, but it left him with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition that can cause intense pain and fatigue.

In an interview with the Daily Beast, the actor revealed that he smokes marijuana to help manage that pain. “The only thing that offers any relief is marijuana,” he told the outlet.

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“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!’” he continued. 

Oliver Stone

While Oliver Stone isn’t as widely recognized as Whoopi Goldberg or Morgan Freeman, he has built an undeniably accomplished career.. The mind behind films like “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July,” his work is overtly political, extremely controversial, and often quite critical of the American government and its policies.

That includes the federal government’s stance on cannabis. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stone called it “God’s gift” and revealed that he’d been smoking it on and off for his whole life.

Stone’s appreciation for cannabis goes beyond its recreational uses, however. In an interview with Film Comment, he discussed how he used it regularly as a soldier in Vietnam and how he believes it was therapeutic in helping those deployed deal with the trauma of what they were experiencing. 

“Half the platoons were getting high—not in the field, but in the back, and it made that whole experience survivable to a large degree. I don’t think I would have kept my humanity without it. Getting high was an antidote to the madness we were surrounded by. I’m very serious about that. The music and the dope,” he said.

READ: From Bright Lights To Grow Lights: A Sampling of Celebrity-Owned Cannabis Brands

Mike Tyson

Boxer Mike Tyson earned his reputation as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. He built a decades-long career filled with both accolades and controversies.

The professional athlete has always been open about his struggles with mental health and has publicly wrestled with depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. He’s also been open about using cannabis to help manage those conditions.

In an interview with a Boston news station, Tyson said, “[Cannabis] is a part of my life, because I’ve been in like nine psych wards… I started using pot a few years ago, and my whole life changed. I still have some scratches here and there. I wasn’t perfect. Using cannabis only raises me to my highest potential.”

Michael J. Fox

Actor Michael J. Fox burst onto our screens in the early ‘80s as the “young republican” Alex P. Keaton in “Family Ties.” He worked steadily for decades, appearing in blockbusters like “Back to the Future” and in iconic TV series like “The Good Wife,” before a Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis forced him to slow down.

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement. Some of its primary symptoms are uncontrollable shaking and muscle stiffness. There is currently no cure for the condition, but there are a wide variety of treatment options that help manage the major symptoms.

When Fox was first diagnosed with the condition, he relied heavily on substances to cope with the life-altering news. Today, the actor is entirely sober from alcohol, cannabis, and everything in between. 

However, the Michael J. Fox Foundation is a major advocate for the use of cannabis in treating Parkinson’s. In 2016, the organization signed a letter asking Congress for more freedom in researching how cannabis could be used to treat the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of chronic illnesses.