In an April interview with UK newspaper “The Guardian”, actor Morgan Freeman explained that he had stopped using cocaine and other “hard drugs” but that he would “never give up on the ganja”

Morgan, age 65, has been nominated for three Academy Awards. He called marijuana “God’s own weed” and explained how Moses’ encounter with the “burning bush” was an early Biblical reference to the spiritual benefits of cannabis use. Sadly the reporter didn’t explore Freeman’s pot-based beliefs further, but did add that ganja was clearly “a subject close to his heart”.

Among other beliefs, Freeman has come out publicly against the celebration of Black History Month and does not participate in any related events, saying, “I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history”. He says the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he notes that there is no “white history month”. Freeman says “I am going to stop calling you a white man and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man

Morgan Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Morgan Porterfield Freeman, a barber, and Mayme Edna, a house worker, and had three older siblings. Freeman’s family moved frequently during his childhood and finally ended up in Chicago, Illinois. Morgan made his first acting debut at the age of eight, playing the lead role in a school play. At the age of twelve, he won a statewide drama competition, and performed in a radio show while in high school. In 1955, he turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, choosing instead to work as a mechanic in the U.S. Air Force.

Although his first credited film appearance was in 1971’s Who Says I Can’t Ride a Rainbow?, Freeman first became known in the American media through roles on the PBS kids’ show The Electric Company and on the soap opera Another World. Beginning in the mid-1980s, he began playing prominent supporting roles in a number of feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise and fatherly characters. His notable early roles include Hoke, the chauffeur in Driving Miss Daisy, and Red, the redeemed convict in The Shawshank Redemption.

Freeman currently lives in Charleston, Mississippi. He has a private pilot’s license, and co-owns and operates Madidi, a fine dining restaurant and Ground Zero Blues Club both located in Clarksdale, Mississippi.