florent Pagny Reveals Cannabis Use Helped Manage Cancer Treatment, Now Relies on Prompters During Performances
Paris, France - singer Florent Pagny, 63, has publicly discussed his long-term cannabis consumption and its role in supporting him through cancer treatment, while also acknowledging it might potentially be contributing to memory issues impacting his stage performances.
Pagny revealed he initially stopped smoking cannabis in early 2022 due to a persistent cough before his diagnosis, but later resumed using it in capsule form during treatment. He stated the cannabis “relieved and removed a lot of pain” and helped restore his appetite, which is often diminished by chemotherapy, as well as aiding sleep. ”This addition which mixes the sensations and which takes you a little elsewhere… opens your appetite,” he explained.He described the plant as having ”virtues” and believes it allowed him to “continue to be active” throughout his illness, calling the experience “almost more a drug.”
The singer dismissed the idea that his cancer was caused by his 40 years of cannabis use, stating, “I don’t think. For me 40 years of smoking it leaves traces if there must be traces, not a tumor, and I don’t have these traces.” When questioned about potential memory loss linked to cannabis, Pagny attributed such issues to age, noting that “your cells are reduced, suddenly your view is reduced, it changes etc.”
However, Pagny admitted he now requires prompters on stage. “Even if very early he may have created my memory breaks, which means that indeed, I can’t sing without my prompters because I can really have holes and it’s very unpleasant for everyone, so to avoid, you put the prompters,” he confessed. He emphasized that these memory lapses are ”not necessarily due to cannabis,” but acknowledges the possibility.
Pagny clarified he has never been dependent on cannabis and can stop using it at will, adding that individual responses to the substance vary and his experience shouldn’t be considered a general example.
