|
Pot-smoking George 'is trying'
01/10/2007 10:08 - (SA)
London - British singer George Michael
is trying to reduce his consumption of marijuana, the pop star
told the BBC on Sunday.
"I'm constantly trying to smoke less marijuana. I'd like to
take less and to a degree it's a problem," Michael told BBC
Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme.
"Is it a problem in my life? Is it getting in the way of my
life? I really don't think," added Michael. "I'm a happy man and
I can afford my marijuana so that's not a problem."
Previously Michael, who has sold more than 85 million
records with hits such as Careless Whisper, has admitted to a dependency on prescription drugs and has called marijuana much less harmful than alcohol.
Britain relaxed its laws against cannabis in 2004 but warned
the country's estimated 3.5 million users the drug remained
illegal and possession of even a small amount could still lead
to arrest.
Michael infuriated mental health charities last year by
smoking a cannabis joint during a television interview and
saying, "This stuff keeps me sane and happy."
'I suffer like crazy'
In June the 44-year-old Michael was banned from driving for
two years and sentenced to 100 hours of community service after
admitting driving when unfit due to drugs.
Police had found Michael slumped behind the wheel of his
Mercedes at a road junction in London in October and the
prosecution said he had a cocktail of both legal and illegal
drugs in his system.
Michael revealed in Sunday's interview he has completed 50
hours of his sentence, helping people with mental health
problems as well as drug addiction.
"I've also scrubbed down some very dirty rooms", added
Michael, "and make chicken fajitas for some homeless people. I
was quite good apparently".
Michael ended years of speculation about his sexuality by
announcing he was gay after he was arrested in 1998 for engaging
in a "lewd act" in a Los Angeles public toilet.
"In a strange way I've spent the last 15 to 20 years trying
to derail my own career, but it never seems to suffer," said
Michael, who completed a 25th anniversary tour earlier this
year.
"I suffer like crazy. I've suffered bereavements and public
humiliations, but my career always seems to right itself like a
plastic duck in the bath. In some ways I resent that."
- Reuters
|
South Africa
