In 2010, a study conducted by University College London’s clinical psychopharmacology unit determined that one of marijuana’s primary properties is the way it increases a user’s ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated concepts. Additionally, the drug also reduces a user’s inhibitions and turns off his or her “inner-editor,” allowing for more, freer out-of-the-box thinking, and rapid association.
To repeat that in non-nerd terms: you can get some dope ideas smoking weed.
To that end, we hit up some famous pot smokers—everyone from Tommy Chong to Melissa Etheridge (yep!)—to hear if they’ve ever had any cannabis-laced epiphanies. What we found out was thrilling, hilarious, and at times, delicious. For anyone who thinks marijuana is just for Netflix-and-chilling, think again.
Tommy Chong
Age: 78
Profession: Actor, comedian, activist
Best Known For: Cheech and Chong
The best idea? Turning my wife into a stand-up comedian. I was on the road and very lonely, and my wife is very beautiful. You can’t have beauty laying around—someone will pick it up. So I had a gig in Guam and [I wanted her to come]. She goes, ‘I don’t want to hang out in the dressing room.’ So I said, ‘How about if I put you in the show?’ She started off just introducing me and then it evolved into doing time. Next thing you know, she’s got her own act.
Blake Anderson
Age: 32
Profession: Actor
Best Known For: Workaholics
As his answer, Mr. Anderson chose to submit a photograph, rather than tell a story:
Image via Publicist
Melissa Etheridge
Age: 55
Profession: Singer-songwriter
Best Known For: “Come to My Window,” going Platinum multiple times, winning Grammys and Oscars
The Awakening in 2007 was written right after I went through chemotherapy and cancer, and part of that was the massive doses of cannabis I was taking just to get out of pain. My belief is that cannabis is a plant that has been with us since the beginning of time and history, and it’s a medicine. The funny part is how we define medicine. I used it as medicine when I went through chemotherapy in 2005, and then I realized that there’s this extra additive, this euphoric effect that you get. Our Western civilization—based on very American, puritanical values—doesn’t leave a lot of space for euphoria … When I realized that oh, this medicine actually helps with creativity—that’s where art is born. When I go to create a piece of art, I want to inspire a person. Cannabis helps me to inspire myself to be in a place where I’m not just problem-solving consciousness.
Ron Funches
Age: 33
Profession: Comedian, actor
Best Known For: Undateable, Powerless
I come up with a lot of great ideas smoking weed; a lot of my jokes come when I’m smoking weed. Like, I had the “Fat Pussy” joke back in the day, or my joke of when I saw a cat in the street. But my best idea is when I came up with mixing Kix cereal with Nutella. That is so good because the milk makes the Nutella real hard—enough to make it malleable—and the Kix are just Kix and they’re wonderful. It just becomes a delicious treat.
Scout Durwood
Age: 33
Profession: Actress
Best Known For: MTV’s Mary + Jane
I just went and saw Rent and I was super excited and a little stoned. In the song "La Vie Boheme," there’s the line, "To no shame; never playing the Fame Game" and like lightning I was like: Fame is a game! We don’t need to exist for fame! We need to exist for ourselves!
The other one: I have a whole musical about mermaids. I have this crazy obsession with mermaids and I got super high and was like, "It’s the mermaids. The mermaids know everything!" Then, in the night, I cracked the story of a two-hour musical and created this whole mythology about how mermaids feed off love.
Nicole Byer
Age: 30
Profession: Actress, writer
Best Known For: *Loosely Exactly Nicole, Lady Dynamite, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
I think it’s helpful to write while high because you say silly shit and you think about it for awhile. I wrote a sketch about bougie mice who can’t be caught with cheese—they have to be caught with artisanal things. In my brain [I was like], "This is hilarious. It will break comedy." Then I read it sober and was like, "Oh my god, this is pretty bad."
I also came up with this one character that’s done pretty well for me. It’s Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez as she lights Andre’s shoes on fire and throws them in the bathtub. It’s just her reaction to the house burning down. Just her going, "Oh no," and running around talking about what’s burning. It doesn’t sound funny, but it’s really funny.
Andrea Drummer
Age: 45
Profession: Chef
Best Known For: Elevation VIP Cooperative
My job itself was conceived after getting high. A friend of mine, who is now my business partner, had been given some product and he asked if I could make some edibles out if it. I thought, OK, I’ll try it, because I wanted to see what product I could come up with. At home I had some heirloom tomatoes, some cheese, some fresh herbs, and a great piece of bread, so I made bruschette. It was just something I made in school. Then I ate maybe seven pieces. Suffice it to say, I was really, scary high.
That night, we brainstormed the idea [of making gourmet edibles]. In two weeks, we had the logo, the permit, everything.
Sen Dog
Age: 51
Profession: Rapper
Best Known For: Cypress Hill
The best idea I’ve ever had while I was smoking pot was to create this rap group that was going to sing about smoking weed. We were going to be big time and sell millions of records and we were going to travel and see the world and all that stuff.
I think it just takes you somewhere else outside of the realm of where you just came from. Let’s say in your car, driving in traffic to the studio. When you listen to music and smoke a couple doobs, whatever comes out of that is a creation of just being with your friends and a "let’s create something out of nothing" type vibe.
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