In Chong We Trust

Tommy Chong really needs no introduction. When you think of weed, you think of Cheech & Chong, and you smile. A lifelong cannabis crusader from Edmonton, Chong, at 82, has done as much for the legalization movement as anyone, and he’s still a vocal advocate today. Jenn Sanasie spoke to Chong—who spoke and spoke—over Zoom.
  • JS: October 17th marks the two-year anniversary since cannabis was legalized in Canada. Talk to me about the progress that you’ve witnessed in this space throughout your lifetime.

    TC: Legalization is just a sleeping giant waking up. Legalization just means that people have just woken up from their dream, from their alcohol, partying, and now we’re finding the substance that people have known about for eons, for forever. And we still got a long way to go. But it’s a step in the right direction, anyway.

  • JS: What role do you think cannabis has in the world?

    TC: The Bible was written on hemp paper. And the burning bush that they talked about in the Bible, that was weed, that was a pot plant that told Moses to take up and leave his people. Now you got to remember back in the day, Moses was a prince. See back in the day, and today too, only the elite gets the education. And it’s only knowledge that lifts you out of poverty. But Moses was taken, and he became part of the royal family. That’s where he got his education. When he tried marijuana, he was enlightened.

  • JS: Moses smoked weed?

    TC: I’m like Moses. All I had was the glimmer of the truth. And I hung on to that glimmer. I was just out in my yard. And I’m sitting on the tree and I had to clean up the furniture. The furniture was filthy. And what was it filthy with, seeds. Seeds of the plants, the trees. And it was the ivy that was growing up the trees, they’re so beautiful. So there’s something about awakening in knowledge.

The Bible was written on hemp paper. And the burning bush that they talked about in the Bible, that was weed, that was a pot plant that told Moses to take up and leave his people.
  • JS: I think in many ways lockdown has forced us to look inside of ourselves and look at what’s happening around us, and really think in the same way that you’re speaking about right now, which is very, very cool.

    TC: That’s the whole thing, getting along with yourself. When I went to prison, I had a choice. I could have fought it, I could have won, but then it would have caused troubles for my wife and my son. And so here again was this moment where I can really show my training. You know, all the religious books, all the spiritual books I’ve been reading. Now I got a chance to prove it to myself. So I chose prison. Because I wanted the experience.

  • JS: You wanted the prison experience?

    TC: I only wanted to save my son and my wife. There was no way I was gonna let them suffer for my sins. So I went to prison with a great attitude, and it was all, “Hey, Chong’s here!” All you have to do if you ever get into a situation, think about these promises. Because that’s what the Bible gives you, directions of how to live. And if you follow the directions, which I’m learning to do, especially with all the iPhones and television, Googles and Alexas. First thing my son taught me how to do is read the directions before you start just hitting buttons and pushing stuff.

  • JS: Very important!

    TC: A lot of us that are going through different karmas, different life things. Like Trump, for instance. I’ve been bashing Trump for four years, but then someone, I was on a show and they said, “What do you think we should do with Trump after he’s done?” And I said, “Forgive him.” If it wasn’t for Trump, we wouldn’t have had legal weed the way we got it now. But he was like a diversion. Then the legal weed snuck in. Now it’s taken off all over the world.

  • JS: Do you see the world through the eyes of a Canadian?

    TC: Man, I’m so proud to be Canadian. Why? Because Trump made me realize that, well, our system of government is kind of cool. Don’t forget, Canada had children’s allowance. If it wasn’t for children’s allowance, I wouldn’t be talking to you. That’s what kept my family eating for at least a couple of years and dressing clothes and everything else. So, we’re blessed. And the beauty of the country is unmatched anywhere. This pandemic has stopped tourism. And that’s cool because it’s allowed the Canadians to go check out their own backyard.

  • JS: What’s your favourite place in Canada?

    TC: I haven’t been there yet, but Tofino in British Columbia—Vancouver Island. I had a house for a while in Qualicum. That’s where my folks retired and my brother too. But my son now, he’s moved to Tofino, and so right now Tofino is my favourite place.

  • JS: I heard there’s great surfing in Tofino.

    TC: Yeah, it’s cold, but pretty soon it’ll be the tropics—global warming.

  • JS: So you briefly brought up your time in prison, and I have to ask you, what was it like being cellmates with the Wolf of Wall Street (Jordan Belfort)?

    TC: Well, because I’m older, they put us in just a two-man cubicle, and because we’re celebrities. Jordan was a celebrity, too. At the time, he was involved in mortgages, which he wasn’t supposed to be. But you know, once a criminal, always a criminal! So I was writing a book, and so he’d come in from tennis and look at me and say, “What are you doing?” And I told him, writing a book. And he’d tell me, “You know what, I’m gonna write a book.” And so he wrote a couple of pages, and he handed the pages to me like I’m a teacher. And I read them and right away I recognized, he was copying Tom Wolfe, The Bonfires of the Vanities, almost verbatim. So then he was stunned. And then he said to me, “What do you suggest?” I said, “Well, if you’re writing about getting high, get higher than anybody’s ever gotten in the world. Just like what we did with Up In Smoke.” We had a big joint. I wasn’t gonna hand Cheech a tiny little joint, this is the movies! So I handed him a joint that looked like a big Led Zeppelin! That’s what makes literature, that’s what makes entertainment bigger than life.

  • JS: And he wrote Wolf of Wall Street?

    TC: Yeah, and one day Jordan pulled up in his car convertible outside my house and he yells, “Hey! Hey, Chong!” I come to the window, he goes, “I wrote the book! They're gonna make a movie out of it! Martin Scorsese is gonna direct it! Thanks to you, dude! Thanks to you.”

  • JS: When you think about all of the iconic experiences you've had in your life, what's your most memorable?

    TC: On set? Let's see. Well, the first day when we shot Cheech and Chong's Next Movie, that was my first day as the director. The first day, we did something like 42 setups. Now, usually the first day you do two or three; five would be crazy. We did 40! We were on such a roll because we just wanted to get it done.

  • JS: That’s crazy.

    TC: And Cheech and I, when we did our records, we never did any more than two or three, four takes. We'd get it almost the first or second take. Sometimes because of your first impulse. So, the first take, that was the secret of that. We tried it again after, but our hearts and souls were in the first two movies, like Up in Smoke and Next Movie.

  • TC: You have to really do it. If you're cheating, like I did with the Trailer Park guys, you do little tokes. You just use your mouth. You don't have to use your lungs. But you know where I learned that? Way before, this is in the 60’s. I was in LA. I was a songwriter, just writing songs and going to the gym every day. And I went to Gold’s Gym, and I hung out with all the biggies including Arnold Schwarzenegger. And the only substance they would do—this is back in the late 60’s—and the only substance they would do was pot. And they smoked out of a bong, and this one bodybuilder, he was legendary. He invited me to this big bong party. And so, the trick was, put almost an eighth into this bowl, and then light it up, and then toke on it so hard that you suck the coals into the water, and it explodes. That was the trick, and all those guys could do it except me.

  • JS: Is that what you called on in your battle with Ricky?

    TC: You have to really do it. If you're cheating, like I did with the Trailer Park guys, you do little tokes. You just use your mouth. You don't have to use your lungs. But you know where I learned that? Way before, this is in the 60’s. I was in LA. I was a songwriter, just writing songs and going to the gym every day. And I went to Gold’s Gym, and I hung out with all the biggies including Arnold Schwarzenegger. And the only substance they would do—this is back in the late 60’s—and the only substance they would do was pot. And they smoked out of a bong, and this one bodybuilder, he was legendary. He invited me to this big bong party. And so, the trick was, put almost an eighth into this bowl, and then light it up, and then toke on it so hard that you suck the coals into the water, and it explodes. That was the trick, and all those guys could do it except me.

  • JS: Who is your most memorable celebrity to smoke with? Bob Marley, Snoop Dogg, Jimi Hendrix…

    TC: Well, I smoked with Snoop Dogg. But I guess the celebrity that I always talked about was George Harrison of The Beatles. George, him and I were kindred spirits because he was a guitar player, and I was a guitar player. And we were both pot smokers. Remember that show, Leave It to Beaver? It was a sitcom with Wally, the older brother. One time, George and I were smoking, and the third guy, we look over, it's Wally! So, I took a joint. George took a hit, I took a hit, and I look, “Oh, it's Wally!” and I handed the joint to Wally. I was gonna say, “Hey, Dad's gonna be really mad at you, Wally.”

  • JS: Oh my gosh, my cheeks hurt from this interview. I'm laughing so much.

    TC: That's good.

  • JS: Okay, everyone wants to know what your favourite snack is for when you have the munchies.

    TC: Anything and everything. I don't get high until it's almost supper time. And then I get high. And then I try not to make a fool of myself, and my wife is very smart. She cooks very small portions, so that when I'm finished, I’m finished. But I'm learning to cook, and my wife's cooking too. There's a Chinese dish made out of salted turnip root and it's called chung choy, chung choi yop yung. And yung is chopped up meat, so you get the chung choi with the chopped up meat, and you steam it. I'll have that. It’s my Chinese in me. You know, I have to have my rice at least once, twice a month. Have to. Other than that, I don't feel like I'm Chinese anymore.

  • JS: Okay, another one from Instagram. What's your favourite stoner movie of all time?

    TC: My favourite movie of all time could be considered a stoner movie, although they didn't smoke in the movie. But me as a stoner getting high, I learn more off this movie than any other movie ever. And it actually inspired me to direct because I called the director and tried to get him to direct Up in Smoke, and he told me, “If you wrote it, you direct it.” I took his advice. The movie is called Badlands with Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen. It's one of the most classic movies I've ever seen in my life. That and Shawshank Redemption is another stoner movie that's not a stoner movie, you know? But as far as stoner movies go—Up in Smoke.

Watch the full interview here: