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Friday, 20 October 2006

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George Michael smokes joint in TV interview

Singer defends dope habit on high-brow show

George Michael has spoken out about his cannabis habit while openly smoking a joint during a TV interview.

The star, 43, puffs away throughout the recording of the South Bank Show which films him backstage before a concert in Madrid - where the drug is legal.

He tells interviewer Melvyn Bragg: 'This stuff keeps me sane and happy. I could write without it... if I were sane and happy. I would say it's a great drug - but obviously it's not very healthy.

'You can't afford to smoke it if you've got anything to do. Anything at all would be foolish.'

The singer then went on to say that it could also be a terrible drug that chilled people out so much it caused them to abandon their ambitions.

At the start of the show, which will be screened on ITV on Tuesday 31 October at 10pm, George refers to the two incidents when he received police cautions for falling asleep at the wheel of his car.

A written statement reads: 'George Michael wishes to inform viewers that he has never tested positive for drink or drugs whilst driving.'

George, who lives with his long term partner Kenny Goss, 48, also hits back at newspaper claims that he is on the brink of a breakdown. 'I feel good,' he says. 'I live in the house of my dreams with the man of my dreams. I'm happy with the music I'm making and I'm still loaded.

'I'm enjoying my life. Even though there's a picture that's being painted, I'd be much more unhappy if it were true.'