A MENTAL health charity has called George Michael “stupid and naive” after he was pictured smiling and lighting what appeared to be a cannabis joint.

The 43-year-old pop star was being interviewed for a South Bank Show special, on ITV1, at his Madrid concert. During the interview he said that cannabis was a “great drug” that kept him “sane and happy”. He also called it a “terrible” and unhealthy drug.

Paul Corry, of the mental health charity Rethink, said: “As a huge international star, any public comments will draw enormous attention. His comments are stupid and naive. Cannabis is not a risk-free drug. For a significant minority of people it is a trigger for developing a severe long-term mental illness like schizophrenia. Those most at risk are young people, the core of George Michael’s audience, and people who use it over a long period of time and in large amounts.”

The former Wham! idol said in the television interview: “This stuff keeps me sane and happy. I could write without it . . . if I were sane and happy. I’d 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.”

But, he added, it could be a “terrible, terrible drug”, saying that it can “chill you out to such a degree that you could lose your ambitions”.

He has admitted dabbling in other drugs, according to yesterday’s Daily Mirror, but added: “There’s not another drug in life that I’m glad I took but grass.”

William Butler, spokesman for Addaction, a rehabilitation charity said: “We are concerned about the message this sends out to young people, especially when there is such confusion about the legality of cannabis. Cannabis is illegal because it can be harmful, as can all drugs.”

A spokeswoman for George Michael’s agent, Connie Filippello Publicity, said: “We have nothing more to add.”

A South Bank Show spokeswoman said: “We must make it clear that when he was smoking he was in Madrid, where cannabis use is legal.”

This month he was cautioned by police for possession of cannabis after he was found slumped over the wheel of his vehicle in North London.

Michael was cautioned on another occasion after being found in a similar state at Hyde Park Corner in February.

The programme will be shown on ITV1 on October 31 at 10pm.

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