Check out how chill Patrick Stewart is. Today, in support of a new initiative by Oxford University to research the medical benefits of cannabis, Stewart revealed he uses marijuana every day to treat his arthritis.
"Two years ago, in Los Angeles, I was examined by a doctor and given a note which gave me legal permission to purchase, from a registered outlet, cannabis-based products, which I was advised might help the ortho-arthritis in both my hands," Stewart said in a statement. "This, it would seem, is a genetically-based condition. My mother had badly distorted and painful hands. I purchased an ointment, spray, and edibles."
According to Stewart, he uses the treatment several times a day, which "significantly reduced the stiffness and pain in my hands." Additionally, he said the cannabis usage has relieved the pain enough to where he can now "make fists, which was not the case before I began this treatment."
As marijuana has been slowly legalized for medical and recreational use in America, an overwhelming number of studies have indicated the plant's many health benefits. As The Cannabist reported earlier this year, an assessment of 10,000 studies since 1999 indicated that, "cannabis or cannabinoids are effective in treating chronic pain in adults, quelling chemotherapy-induced nausea or vomiting and improving multiple sclerosis-related spasticity syndromes."
