There are countless celebrities who use medical marijuana and many who just love their bud and aren’t afraid to flaunt it. These are the celebrities and pop culture icons who have changed the course of marijuana history.
Grateful Dead
Deadheads adore their pot and it has even been rumoured that the band and its fans are responsible for initiating the stoner holiday 4/20, a noteworthy part of stoner counterculture. At a concert in 1990, one groupie was passing out fliers that said “we are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing.” High Times reported on this event, which quickly spread like wildfire and is still a cherished holiday today. The band members were busted multiple times on marijuana charges, most memorably at their residence in San Francisco where they had over a pound of pot. Dozens of marijuana strains like Chemdog, Casey Jones, Unbroken Chain, Terpwin Station, Sunshine Daydream, and Deadhead OG were named after and honor the band.
Snoop Dogg
It’s impossible to think of Snoop without also thinking of marijuana. He is nearly always promoting bud (and smoking it) and even has a salaried blunt roller on staff, so it comes at no surprise that he’s also heavy in the retail game with his own cannabis strain and edibles called Leafs by Snoop. The Long Beach rapper has been a key figure in the growth of stoner subculture and is nearly every person’s choice when asked which celebrity they’d like to smoke a bowl with. He hosts GGN Network, a Youtube show where he and a bunch of his celebrity friends like Lil Skies, Mike Tyson, TI, Seth Rogan, Post Malone, and Khloe Kardashian, to name a few, smoke fat blunts and talk about weed and current events. And let’s not forget about everyone’s favorite video to watch while high–Snoop Dogg narrating Planet Earth.
Miley Cyrus
The “Wrecking Ball” singer has been very open about her marijuana use and stance on legalization in the past having called weed “the best drug on earth.” Along with fellow Hollywood celebs Chris Rock and Sarah Silverman, she invested in the first cannabis cafe in the United States, Lowell Cafe, renamed the Original Cannabis Cafe. However she has had a strange on again, off again relationship with pot even though both her parents are regular smokers. From her Bangerz tour marijuana leaf leotard outfit to smoking a joint live at the 2013 EMAs, there’s no doubt that Miley loves her ganja.
Willie Nelson
Long before Snoop Dogg was born, Willie Nelson was puffing, passing, singing, and advocating for weed. The country music icon has been at the forefront of cannabis activism, speaking publicly about using pot as a medicine and the economic potential of the plant well before legalization in the U.S. was conceivable. Willie is known for smoking a ton of pot. So much so that Snoop Dogg said he was the one person on the planet that could out smoke him, so that’s saying a lot. Willie isn’t just passionate about pot, he regularly performs at benefit concerts and is an avid environmentalist who supports sustainable energy initiatives, organic farming, and affirmative lifestyles.
Nate and Nick Diaz
More and more athletes are turning to cannabis as a means to heal bruising, recover, train, and relax. Though drugs and other enhancements have always been a sore spot in the realm of sports, professional athletes are one of the many groups that recognize the health benefits and are advocating for its use on a large scale. Champion MMA fighters Nate Diaz and his brother Nick have both been reprimanded by UFC for their CBD use after fights and during press conferences. Due to their support of the plant, the UFC has relaxed rules regarding hemp derived-CBD use for fighters, allowing the athletes to consume CBD right up until the fight and directly after. The Diaz brothers have since launched Game Up, a plant-based CBD wellness company focused on supplements and nutrition for athletes and continue to be at the forefront of cannabis regulation in professional athletics.
Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong
In addition to bringing recreational pot use to the forefront with their 1978 classic Up in Smoke, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong are both advocates for marijuana reform. The iconic comedy helped normalize pot use and show “how much of a racial excuse it was for the cops and for the establishment. It was just an excuse to harass hippies and black people, and brown people.” The film was a first of its kind and would give rise to the stoner comedy genre of films and stoner subculture. Cheech once said that he was skeptical about the medicinal benefits of cannabis until he had debilitating nausea that was better treated with marijuana than prescription medication. Today, both comedians have ties to cannabis-related businesses such as a glass bong shop and a dry herb brand, and help budding cannapreneurs get their businesses off the ground.
Bob Marley
We can’t talk about ganja without mentioning the legendary singer who popularized reggae music, smoking marijuana, and rastafarianism with fans around the world. While Bob Marley smoked for religious purposes, his songs were laced with his love and appreciation for the green goddess. His respect for the plant as a connection to the divine was further exemplified when he said, “when you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself.” Bob often sparked up onstage and spoke in interviews of how he used weed to write his songs and for creative inspiration. Though he left this earth nearly 40 years ago, he is still considered one of the main figures to help popularize marijuana use.
Rihanna
From her pot leaf fashion choices to getting kicked out of a hotel in Barbados for setting off the smoke alarms, Rihana is one of the most famous female stoners. She is known to be all about the blunts and was even caught rolling one up using her bodyguard’s bald head as a rolling tray (we don’t recommend it). She proudly tokes it up in music videos, on the red carpet, at award shows, and on her album covers, plus we can’t forget that legendary photo of Riri smoking a giant doobie with Snoop Dogg and Warren G.
Honorable mentions
Carl Sagan
Fiona Apple
Patrick Stewart
Bob Dylan
Wiz Khalifa
Sarah Silverman
Seth Rogan
Woody Harrelson
Dr. Dre
Light up like your favorite marijuana-smoking celebs with a quality bong, bubbler, pipe, or vaporizer from our online headshop.
