Morgan Freeman regularly smokes pot as pain relief

Actor Morgan Freeman. Photo / Getty Images

Hollywood veteran Morgan Freeman regularly smokes marijuana to deal with a painful medical condition stemming from his 2008 car crash.

The Shawshank Redemption star suffered a broken arm and serious injuries to his shoulder and elbow in a horrifying accident in Mississippi after the car he was driving came off the road.

Morgan, who has taken to wearing a special compression glove on his injured left hand, has now revealed the long-term effects include fibromyalgia, a chronic condition that causes pain all over the body, and he uses pot to deal with his symptoms.

Freeman is adamant the drug is a vital medical tool and should be made available for anyone who needs it.

He tells TheDailyBeast.com, "They used to say, 'You smoke that stuff, boy, you get hooked!' My first wife got me into it many years ago. How do I take it? However it comes! I'll eat it, drink it, smoke it, snort it!

"This movement (to legalise marijuana) is really a long time coming, and it's getting legs - longer legs. 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**ked. 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, 'Legalise it across the board!"'

- WENN