BANGKOK, Thailand -- The Dalai Lama said he supports the use of
medical marijuana, but if a person smokes the plant to get "a crazy
mind, that's not good."
Tenzin Gyatso, the self-exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader, made the
remarks in Mexico in response to a question during an event hosted by
former Mexican president Vicente Fox.
When asked if he favors legalization of marijuana, the Dalai Lama
replied that "the exception" would be for medical purposes, according
to Agence France-Presse.
"But otherwise, if it's just an issue of somebody [using the drug to
have] a crazy mind, that's not good," he said on Tuesday (Oct. 15) at
the outdoor event in Guanajuato state.
Fox "laughed when the question was asked to the Dalai Lama," AFP reported.
The former president is a vocal supporter of marijuana's legalization
to cut "a major revenue stream for ultra-violent drug cartels,"
according to AFP.
The Dalai Lama, 78, is not known to use marijuana for any illness.
In 2008, he underwent laparoscopic surgery to have a gallstone
removed, his spokesman Chhime R. Chhoekyapa said at the time.