Dalai Lama backs use of marijuana for medicinal purposes

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The Dalai Lama has joined the debate on the legalisation of marijuana by telling an audience in Mexico that he supports its use for medicinal purposes.

Speaking at an event in the state of Guanajuato on Tuesday, Tibet's spiritual leader said that "the exception" for smoking the drug would be if it were for medicinal use, reported AFP.

He clarified his position by adding that he did not support its use as a recreational drug, AFP reported. He was responding to an audience member's question about his position on the legalisation of the drug

The country is currently considering whether to legalise the drug. Mexico's former president Vicente Fox, who was hosting the event, supports its legalisation as a way to divert money from - and break - the country's powerful drug cartels.