Dalai Lama Supports Medical Marijuana But Not "Crazy" Use

Dalai Lama Supports Medical Marijuana But Not "Crazy" Use

Richard S. Ehrlich

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.

The Dalai Lama actively supports modern medical treatments, and also
Tibet's 2,000-year-old traditional medicine.

After fleeing Tibet in 1959 during the Chinese invasion, the Dalai
Lama has resided in northern India's Himalayan mountain town of
Dharamsala, where in 1961 he established a Tibetan Medical and Astro
Institute, known as Men-Tsee-Khang in Tibetan language.

The previous Dalai Lama set up the institute in 1916 in Tibet to
promote the Tibetan system of medicine, astronomy and astrology,
according to its website.

http://www.men-tsee-khang.org

"Men-Tsee-Khang is a charitable, cultural and educational institution
of H. H. [His Holiness] the Dalai Lama," it said.

Today, the institution provides free and subsidized health care to
Tibetan refugees and their families in India, teaches Tibetan doctors
and astrologers, and produces Tibetan medicine, including "Precious
Pills."

The "precious black pill of cold compound," for example, contains 140
ingredients including "calcinated powder of precious stones and metals
like gold, silver, copper, iron, sapphire, diamond, emerald, turquoise
etc., as well as herbal and non-herbal ingredients like saffron,
nutmeg, Indian pokeberry, chebulic myrobalan etc.," according to the
institute.

The black pill is to treat "stomach problems," "blood in the liver,"
"bloody diarrhea or vomiting of rancid blood," "poisoning," "leprosy,
malignant tumor, diphtheria" and other diseases.

All "precious pills" are "enriched by spiritual blessing," and some
include "purified and detoxified mercury powder with a sulphur base."

The Dalai Lama's surprise support for medical marijuana attracted
interest among Buddhists and others in various countries who posted
comments on several websites.

"Why wouldn't compassionate-minded Buddhists support the use of a
healing, natural, herbal, non-addictive medicine such as marijuana to
treat symptoms of medical conditions?" asked James Ure, a Zen Buddhist
who publishes The Buddhist Blog.

"It helps relieve my chronic depression to the point of saving me from
suicide a few times. In addition, medical marijuana blunts the aches
and pains of my bursitis to enable my body to meditate properly," Ure
said.

The Dalai Lama's support for marijuana appeared on a Huffington Post
website alongside the names of other famous people who enjoyed the
drug including Sarah Palin, Lady Gaga, Michael Bloomberg, George
Clooney, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

"Having the Dalai Lama support for medical use is a great step in the
right direction. Just like with CNN's Sanjay Gupta, it allows the
uninformed non-smoker to stop thinking of Marijuana as an Evil Drug
and as a positive natural resource," commented one marijuana advocate.

Steve Elliott, a Hemp News reporter in a pro-cannabis group, Hemp.Org,
said, "Somebody really needs to educate His Holiness," after noting
that the Dalai Lama perceived recreational use as "not good" because
it causes a "crazy mind."

*****

Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist from San Francisco,
California, reporting news from Asia since 1978, and recipient of
Columbia University's Foreign Correspondent's Award. He is a co-author
of three non-fiction books about Thailand, including "Hello My Big Big
Honey!" Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing
Interviews; 60 Stories of Royal Lineage; and Chronicle of Thailand:
Headline News Since 1946. Mr. Ehrlich also contributed to the final
chapter, Ceremonies and Regalia, in a new book titled King Bhumibol
Adulyadej, A Life's Work: Thailand's Monarchy in Perspective.

His websites are

http://asia-correspondent.tumblr.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/animists/sets

https://gumroad.com/l/RHwa

(Copyright 2013 Richard S Ehrlich)

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