For some people, smoking a joint in the middle of the day would derail focus and productivity. However, Hollywood star and comedic cannabis consumer Seth Rogen describes the plant as an essential tool to everyday functioning.
“I don’t make any illusions as to how weed fits into my life,” Rogen says in an interview with Forbes Magazine. “I’m a person who smokes weed all day, every day.”
Cannabis has been a constant co-star for the actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for hit films like Superbad, Neighbors and Pineapple Express. His father told the New York Times that the “miracle of marijuana” helped his son deal with attention-deficit disorder.
Cannabis is also a business partner as Rogen and his childhood best friend and writing partner, Evan Goldberg, co-founded the Canadian cannabis brand, Houseplant, in 2019.
For the past 20 years, audiences have been laughing with Rogen as he’s played nearly 100 roles in film and television where he is either getting high, about to get high or helping someone else get high. With Houseplant, he is proving that he is taking weed seriously as a business venture and platform for criminal justice reform.
Rogen says it is now time for Americans to take cannabis more seriously.
“It really bothers me that people downplay its importance and downplay how meaningful it is to some people’s lives,” he says. “There’s always been lies that have been told to control weed—it’ll make you go crazy, it’ll make you lazy, it’ll do this and do that. Right now, I think the biggest lie is that it’s just not important, and there are more important things to be talking about.”
The star continues on saying cannabis is deserving of a reckoning as a relevant topic worthy of a national discussion. Slated to grow into a $100 billion industry by 2030, 18 states have legalized cannabis for adult use, while 37 have legalized medical use. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer, along with Senators Cory Booker and Ron Wyden, introduced a draft federal legalization bill.
“It’s important because the entire reason it’s illegal is based in racism and we’re all living with the lies of racist men from 100 years ago,” Rogen says. “Truthfully, there is no reason that weed is illegal other than to control minority populations.”
While there seems to be an endless number of celebrity-backed weed brands, some are clearly leveraging a famous face to sell buds while other celebrities are involved in the companies. Rogen falls into the latter camp.
“Over the last couple years, I’ve spent as much time working on this company as I have on my films,” he says. “It’s a direct reflection of mine and my partner’s creative sensibilities, and it’s come from a lifetime of putting thought into weed and loving weed. It’s as exciting as anything I’ve ever worked on.”
The other week, Houseplant announced that it would end its partnership with Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth after three years and will focus on expanding its footprint in the U.S. Products will stop being sold north of the border by the end of September. CEO and co-founder Michael Mohr, who is Goldberg’s cousin, says the company plans to relaunch in the Canadian market at some point, but its focus right now is the U.S. market.
Houseplant includes seven strains—all of which Rogen tested himself. The company will begin to sell pre-rolled joints and a THC-infused seltzer in the coming months, and there are plans to expand in other states. Currently, eyes are set on Nevada, Illinois, Michigan and New York.
Rogen says he wants to sell some of the best stuff out there, and some of Hollywood’s elite have purchased some of his goods, including Charlize Theron and Lena Waithe.“It’s something I’ve always championed and something that I’m very happy to be associated with,” Rogen says. “It’s something that is an intrinsic part of my life, my day-to-day functionality. Of all the things to be tied to, I’m fucking thrilled that it’s weed.”
