Captain Picard has gone to pot
Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart confirms he uses cannabis products to treat his arthritis
Patrick Stewart has revealed his secret to treating arthritis: marijuana.
The screen and stage legend, 76, says he uses marijuana spray, ointment and edible cannabis to relieve pain caused by the auto-inflammatory condition he’s been struggling with for several years now. He decided to give the green treatment a shot after a doctor gave him a prescription for it.
Stewart made the admission while backing an initiative by Britain’s Oxford University that looks into the benefits of pot-based medicine.
“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,” the Star Trek actor said in a statement.
“This, it would seem, is a genetically-based condition. My mother had badly distorted and painful hands.”
Stewart said he uses the ointment before bed to help him sleep, and the spray on his finger joints several times a day. He says the products have “significantly reduced the stiffness and pain in my hands.”
Stewart said he can now make fists, and that he has “had no negative side effects from this treatment and the alternative would have been to continue taking NSAID’s (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs), Advil, Aleve and Naproxen, which are known to be harsh on the liver and to cause acid reflux.”
Stewart hopes the new study will lead to the legalization of pot for medical usage in Britain.
“This is an important step forward for Britain in a field of research that has for too long been held back by prejudice, fear and ignorance,” he said. “I believe this program of research might result in benefits for people like myself as well as millions of others.”
Stewart’s most recent role is the reprisal of Professor X, alongside Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, in the Marvel film Logan.