Morgan Freeman has voiced his support for the legalisation of marijuana, having candidly revealed his use of the drug for medicinal purposes in his recovery from a near-fatal car crash several years ago.

The 77 year old former Oscar winner, famed for his golden speaking voice, gave a forthright interview to The Daily Beast in which he gave his opinions on the ongoing campaign to legalise the drug. “Legalize it across the board,” he said, describing the movement as “a long time coming”.

Morgan FreemanMorgan Freeman spoke to The Daily Beast about marijuana

Freeman was involved in a serious car accident in 2008, when his Nissan Maxima skidded out of control when he was driving across the state of Mississippi and flipped over several times. His left arm, elbow and shoulder were shattered, and doctors operated on him for four hours to repair the damage to his nerves. He has still not completely recovered, and experiences occasional difficulty using his left hand.

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“Marijuana has many useful uses,” he enthused. “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.”

The co-star of forthcoming movie 5 Flights Up said that his first wife initially introduced him to the substance. “How do I take it? However it comes! I'll eat it, drink it, smoke it, snort it,” Freeman said. He is adamant that anybody who needs it for such purposes ought to be able to access it.

He added that the campaign for legalisation was gaining momentum, arguing that the key to victory lies in comparing its effects to alcohol use. “Now, the thrust is understanding that alcohol has no real medicinal use. Maybe if you have one drink it'll quiet you down, but two or three and you're f****d.”

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