Great Moments in Weed History

On April 19, 1943 Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hoffman took the world's first LSD trip, which included a rather harrowing bicycle ride home from his lab that day. For the next sixty years, Hoffman would be fascinated by his famous "problem child," a powerful molecule that changed the course of history.  Comedian Shane Mauss ("A Better Trip") tells us the story of Bicycle Day, which is now celebrated around the world.  EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

As we gaze upon the Cosmos, let's remember Carl Sagan, the famed astronomer who attributed his most powerful epiphanies to the creative influence of cannabis. And his best bud Dr. Lester Grinspoon, who set out to make the definitive scientific case against weed and ended up becoming one of the plant's greatest champions. Their friendship truly changed the course of weed history, with some incredible stories along the way. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

What's the most psychedelic experience you can have on Earth without ingesting so much as a microdose? A solar eclipse, no question—but you've got to be in the path of totality.  Our guest on this episode, astronomer Nour Skaf, from the Black Rock Observatory, explains what exactly happens during an eclipse, and why it's such a profoundly trippy phenomenon.  Nour will be presenting a talk at the upcoming Texas Eclipse Festival outside Austin, Texas on April 5th-9th. Bean will be there too, reporting for DoubleBlind magazine. If you have the time and resources, please don't miss a chance to see an eclipse. It is truly life-changing. PATH OF TOTALITY Check out this map to track the path of totality, and find the closest location for you to experience the eclipse.  EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

From the depths of the ocean, a mythical weed-loving monster arises to wreak havoc on the authorities who attempt to eradicate her favorite plant. Would you believe this no-budget 1980s monster movie is based on a true story? With special guest Jon Gabrus, we explore how a locally-produced film called Ganjasaurus Rex actually tells the history of outlaw weed growers in Humboldt County via a kaiju about a Godzilla-like creature that swats down police helicopters. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

The internet has burning questions about getting lit. So GMIWH took a week off from getting high on history to jump into the r/trees subreddit and drop some knowledge on those seeking advice. As you might imagine, the questions range from the serious, to the silly, to the strange. Think of this one as "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Weed (But Were Afraid to Ask)." EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Let's head back to 2700 BC to meet an ancient Chinese hemp goddess who lived on a mountaintop full of cannabis plants where she brewed the elixir of life. And doesn’t that sound nice? Our guides for this trip are Christina Wong and Wendy Zeng, two chefs, culinary cannabis creators, and the co-hosts of Mogu Magu, a culture, food, and cannabis collective exploring the Asian immigrant experience. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Cody Bass is a second generation outlaw who fought the law and lost, but never lost faith in cannabis. Today he’s a successful weed business owner, and the mayor of Lake Tahoe, California—the very jurisdiction where the authorities once literally tried to run him out of town.  EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Mila Jansen first scored hash down on the docks in 1964, smuggled into Amsterdam by sailors from exotic ports of call. She soon after opened an early forerunner of that city’s legendary cannabis coffeeshops, before spending many years living in India, Afghanistan, and other traditional hashish producing regions.  And then, upon returning home, she absolutely changed the game as one of Amsterdam’s top cannabis growers and the inventor of an era-defining device for modern hash makers called the Pollinator. Best of all, she’s still getting high, and setting trends today. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

We turned a crystal ball into a bong. Then we invited Leafly Senior Editor David Downs to smoke the strain of the year out of it and make predications for the future of cannabis.  After reviewing the highs (and lows) of a tumultuous year, we see a bright, green future for the plant, the culture, and the industry in 2024 (and beyond). So please get lit and join us, as we go Bake to the Future. STRAIN OF THE YEAR Each year, based on extensive smoking and hard data, Leafly selects the strain of the year. Check out 2023’s winner. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Explore St. Nick’s psychedelic shamanic roots in Siberia in the only Christmas Special where Santa gifts you magic mushrooms and even the reindeer get high AF! So hang on to your sleigh bells, because it's time for Abdullah and Bean's annual re-telling of this classic story as we celebrate the holiday season with Amanita muscaria mushrooms, weed-infused cookies, extra oil to dab for Chanukah and plenty of fermented yak milk. Special thanks to Harvard professor Donald Pfister for his enlightening annual lecture on Psychedelic Santa!  Check out Doubleblind magazine and MAPS for more information on psychedelics. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

In an age of corporate cannabis, who keeps authentic weed culture alive? In a time of abundant strains and concentrates, whose tastes define hashish connoisseurship.  Wooks, that's who! Named for the Wookies in the Star Wars universe—Chewbacca being the most well known example —and found primarily hanging around outside concerts and festivals, wooks are noble, gentle creatures dedicated to living in the moment, getting lit and following their bliss. So we seshed with real-life cannabis couple (and self-described wooks) Cass Greener and Sean Dunne—the filmmaking team behind the new documentary film Wooks—about the central role that wookies have played in shaping and spreading cannabis culture throughout the live music scene. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of  Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Todd McCormick’s weed journey began when his mom handed him a joint on the way home from chemotherapy. As a survivor of pediatric cancer, he later advocated for the plant’s legalization alongside legends of the cannabis movement like Jack Herer, Brownie Mary, Dennis Peron and Dr. Lester Grinspoon. Getting busted for growing medical cannabis at a mansion in Bel-Air made him an international cannabis cause célèbre, but that's just one part of his incredible story. Todd also forged lasting friendships with weed icons like Tommy Chong, Woody Harrelson, Bill Maher and Hugh Hefner. We get into all that and much more in this "two-joint" interview. ALSO: Check out Todd's book How to Grow Medical Marijuana and his two documentary films, The Union: The Business Behind Getting High and The Culture High Todd also operates the Authentic Genetics Seed Company EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Emerging in the conformist 1950s, the Beat subculture pushed back against corporatism and consumerism in favor of a contemplatively nonconformist lifestyle focused on art, poetry, jazz and “kicks.” The small circle of young writers at the core of this lit-erary movement—Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Neal Cassady—were all heavily influenced by the improvisation, illumination. and imagination they found in cannabis.  Among their most acclaimed and lasting works are Kerouac’s generation-defining novel On the Road and Ginsberg’s epic poem Howl. On this episode, Martin Torgoff—author of Bop Apocalypse: Jazz, Race, the Beats and Drugs—explains just how central cannabis was as a creative tool for the Beats as they sought to bust through the conventions of both literature and society. And how along the way, they founded LeMar, America's first cannabis legalization organization. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

In 1983, an outlaw weed grower pseudonymously published Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, a truly game changing book that sparked a global movement.  In the forty years since, "Jorge Cervantes" has traveled the world writing articles, shooting videos, meeting with growers, sampling harvests, and generously sharing his weed wisdom. In this episode, Jorge recalls his incredible life story, from seed to flower. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Cannabis activist Ellen Komp has been on the frontlines of the fight to end weed arrests and provide safe access to this incredible medicinal plant for decades. Including as an editor of Jack Herer's groundbreaking book about hemp—The Emperor Wears No Clothes, as the deputy director of California NORML and as author of Tokin' Women: A 4,000 Year Herstory. In a special live episode taped at this year's Meadowlands conference, Ellen shares the modern history of weed as seen through her own eyes. LEGALIZATION NATION Check out the Kickstarter for Box Brown's comic journalism book about the dirty deeds of corporate weed. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

When a bunch of lawyers and shadowy political operators pushed a ballot initiative in Humboldt County, California that could destroy the legal weed industry in America's most legendary cannabis cultivation region, comedian Billy Wayne Davis—our guest this week—said "hell no." On October 1st, Great Moments in Weed History will join Billy Wayne plus Mike Glazer from Weed + Grub, Frank Castillo from Peak'd and Henry Zebrowski from Last Podcast on the Left for a benefit show at the Mateel Center in Southern Humboldt to help vote down this eradication initiative known as Measure A. In addition to traveling all over the country to make people laugh, Billy Wayne is also the host of the excellent podcast Grown Local on which he interviews all sorts of weed people—with a particular focus on small-scale craft growers. In this episode, we dig into a few of Billy Wayne’s personal greatest weed moments, from his cannabis origin story to a life-lesson he got firsthand from stand-up legend Ralphie May. STOP MEASURE A IN HUMBOLDT Check out this website for more information on how Measure A would devastate craft farmers in Humboldt County and how you can help through grassroots political action or sending a donation. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Whether portraying Bong Boy as part of the Upright Citizens Brigade or taping his solo stand-up special at a weed lounge, comedian Matt Besser never shies away from embracing cannabis culture. In an appropriately stoned interview, Matt shares some personal great moments from his own weed history, explores how cannabis enhances the creative process, and explains why he never goes on stage stoned—unless it's 4/20. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Cannabis has profound therapeutic properties, providing healing relief from ailments ranging from chronic pain and insomnia to cancer, seizure disorders, MS, ALS and digestive disorders. But how can you get the most out of this safe, versatile plant medicine? And why is your doctor so in the dark about weed?  As a young hippie physician with hair well past his shoulders, Dr. Jeffrey Hergenrather witnessed firsthand the plant’s incredible potential for treating a wide variety of conditions during the seven years he served as in-house physician at the Farm, a legendary counterculture commune in rural Tennessee. Ever since, he’s been a tireless advocate for safe access to our favorite life saving plant. Including as a founding member and one-time president of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians—the oldest organization of physicians specializing in the use of cannabis as medicine.  While hearing the good doctor’s long history with cannabis, we also discuss how to talk to your doctor about medical cannabis, how to convince Grandma to give it a try, and how exactly a single plant can be efficacious for so many different ailments.  EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

The weed legalization movement has always embraced street theater, a tactic Adam Eidinger certainly put to good use the time he led a giveaway of 10,000 joints during a presidential inauguration. He also lead the charge to end cannabis prohibition in Washington DC and then followed up with an initiative that legalized psychedelic plants, including mushrooms, ayahuasca, and mescaline. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

The War on Weed first started crumbling because of courageous cannabis patients like John, a super chill, funny and cool person to share some herb with who helps spread the word about the plant's miraculous medicinal properties among those who—like himself—have Friedreich’s ataxia. According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Friedreich’s ataxia is a genetic, progressive, neurodegenerative movement disorder affecting 1 in every 50,000 people. John explains how cannabis helps him treat and manage the condition, and also takes us through the truly great moment when he first spoke out (loud and proud) in public to let both the FDA and his fellow FA patients know about his own positive experiences with weed.  An act that touched the lives of many other people who have since found therapeutic relief in cannabis! EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 90+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible