Whoopi Goldberg has claimed cannabis is ‘probably the greatest medicine on the planet’ as she revealed she used it medicinally in the past to help with painful menstrual cramps, and is now launching her own brand of products.
The 68-year-old actor, who is launching her own line in July including edibles and pre-rolls, stressed that ‘medicine should be in the hands of people,’ and said using cannabis for medicinal purposes was ‘not taboo anymore.’
In an interview with Forbes, Whoopi explained why she thinks that medicating shouldn’t feel uncomfortable: ‘We know that’s wrong. And people say, “well, that’s just anecdotal,” but it’s not anecdotal.
‘Everybody you talk to would tell you that medicine doesn’t have to be horrifying. Especially when it’s herbal, when it’s growing out of the ground and doesn’t need an additive, which means it can stay reasonably priced for people to go pick it up.’
Whoopi’s brand is named Emma & Clyde after her late mother and brother, who both used cannabis – her mother medicinally and her brother recreationally – and The View host described them as ‘two people that represent weed as it stands in the real world.’
Whoopi Goldberg has claimed cannabis is ‘probably the greatest medicine on the planet’
Whoopi, pictured here smoking a cigarette in 2003, used cannabis to help with her menstrual cramps in the past
Referring to her own reasons for using cannabis, the Sister Act star explained: ‘For people like me, it was always used to stop the [menstrual] cramps – and the side hustle of that is that it was fun, it made you laugh and stuff.
‘They’re not taboo anymore because we all know women get a period. We know. So you can either make it hard, which they’ve done in terms of creating something that helps women… But this [cannabis] we know works.’
The mother-of-one added that her primary reason for using it was to make sure she ‘could stop the pain,’ because products such as Midol ‘didn’t work’ for her.
‘Medicine should be in the hands of people,’ Whoopi said, before describing it as an ‘honor’ to launch her own brand – which will be available in stores on July 20.
However, this isn’t the first time Whoopi has embarked on this venture as back in 2016 she launched cannabis brand Whoopi & Maya alongside Maya Elisabeth, but in February 2020, it was reported that the company had shut down.
Over the years, Whoopi has been very open about her use of cannabis and in 2014, she wrote in The Cannabist about her love of her kush-filled vape pen, which she said gave her relief from glaucoma-related headaches.
And in a 2015 interview with High Times Magazine, Whoopi said she was an advocate for the use of pediatric medical marijuana for sick children.
‘When we talk about marijuana and I hear people say, “Well, what about the children?” Yeah, what about the children?’ the actor said.
The 68-year-old actor has revealed that her mother, Emma, used cannabis for medicinal purposes
Whoopi has spoken openly about smoking cannabis recreationally with her brother, Clyde, who sadly passed away in 2015
Referring to families who had given their children cannabis, she added: ‘These parents are being treated like criminals – because, as a last resort and after much research, they’ve decided that cannabis may help their kid.
‘They know they may face jail time – but these are their kids, and they will do everything they can to bring peace to the convulsions or calm after the chemotherapy.’
More recently, Whoopi spoke about a different type of drug when she revealed why she decided to speak up about taking Mounjaro to aid her weight loss.
During an episode of The View earlier this week, Whoopi and the rest of the panel had a rather tense discussion about ‘magic’ weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro and whether or not it is ‘offensive’ to ask someone if they’re taking it.
Midway through the conversation, Whoopi blurted out: ‘Yes I took Mounjaro. I did it, you know. I say it all the time because you can’t go from close to 300 pounds without somebody saying, “Okay, what happened?” Because you know I didn’t go to the gym! People know that!’
Back in March, Whoopi said live on air that she turned to the medication after her weight soared to 300 pounds while she was filming the movie Till in 2021.
