BOXING legend Mike Tyson says Britain should legalise cannabis to help ease the growing prescription pill crisis.
Pot entrepreneur Tyson, who owns a huge weed farm in California, says fully relaxed regulations would help ease the UK’s spiralling mental health problem.
The former boxing world champ, who once boasted of smoking £33,000 of cannabis every month, called it a ‘wonder drug’.
He told The Sun exclusively: “Well I will tell you, once it is legalised in the UK, you wouldn’t have to worry about all these prescriptions drugs driving everybody nutty and committing suicide and all that stuff. That will stop immediately.
“Definitely half of it will be knocked out once the people from Great Britain get a chance to participate in what we are doing right now; the wonder medicine.”
Iron Mike was speaking at the unveiling of a statue of himself erected outside the Mulberry Street Pizzeria in Vegas.
The statue was erected by Resorts World President Scott Sibella and restaurateur Richie Palmer as a tribute to his close friend.
Palmer, owner and founder of Mulberry Street Pizzeria, said: “It’s important because we’ve been friends for 35 years. It was my way to honour him and have a tribute to him because people don’t know what a great, great, great human being he is.
“Generous to a fault. Kind. He will never say no to anyone for a picture. People don’t get that. All they see is the ferociousness, the craziness, the bad moments.
“They don’t see what a genuinely wonderful person he is.”
Tyson said the statue was a stunning surprise.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
He stated: ” I had no idea… I am very humbled right now. I am truly grateful.”
The star did not chow down on his favourite Sicilian and Buffalo pizza, however, as he is in training for a February fight.
Tyson, 55, also revealed he was unaware that this year marks the 35th anniversary of him becoming the youngest heavyweight champion aged 20.
He said: “To be honest I don’t remember that night and most of my boxing career is a blur. And so I live this life now.”
Tyson has not forgotten how Las Vegas treated him during his record-breaking career, adding: “Listen, I made my name here in Vegas and listen, I am going to stay here in Vegas.”
The Baddest Man on the Planet shared the ring with Roy Jones Jr for a comeback last year and is poised to get back in the ring in February.
He added fuel to rumours that YouTubers Jake or Logan Paul could be his next opponent, saying: “I am going to have a return fight in February and we are pretty skeptical about the opponent but it will be a really stimulating opponent.”
Tyson runs a 40-acre weed farm and has been selling cannabis products, which are now legal in Nevada and California, since 2016 through his Tyson Holistic label.
The fighter is believed to earn a staggering £500,000-per-month through his business that offers premium marijuana strains, edibles and extracts, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
He is also building a 418-acre weed-themed holiday resort he hopes will be home to a music festival to rival Coachella, as well as the world’s longest lazy river.
And aside from a luxury hotel and the lure of ‘glamping’ tents, there will be a Tyson University on site that will aim to teach cannabis cultivation tips to wannabe farmers.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
