Weed magnate Seth Rogen says edibles once got him high enough to freak out Bryan Cranston

Weed magnate Seth Rogen says edibles once got him high enough to freak out Bryan Cranston
Seth Rogen, Jimmy Kimmel Screenshot: Jimmy Kimmel Live

The transformation of Seth Rogen from acclaimed filmmaker and actor to your coolest stoner uncle seems to be about complete, as the newly minted entrepreneur sat down (at a safe distance) with Jimmy Kimmel on Monday. Sporting horn-rims, a cardigan, and the hint of an unconcerned bald spot, the An American Pickle star told Kimmel that a weed-friendly Mr. Rodgers vibe is something he’s been cultivating through his year-long pandemic sequestration. Noting that Kimmel’s in-person “face holes” are the first he’s seen in a long, long time, Rogen contentedly joked that “the whole world has acclimatized to my lifestyle,” as he explained the intricacies of starting (and now expanding) an entire cottage cannabis industry. And making quality ceramics.

“They seem genuinely proud of me,” marveled Rogen at people’s (mostly) appreciative reaction to his newfound pot-throwing acumen, adding happily, “I’ve made so many movies—nobody has seemed proud of me afterward.” Telling Kimmel that he has used his intimate, “all day, every day” weed-smoking experience to inform his new sideline of smoker-tailored, Seth-made ashtrays and impossible-to-lose table-lighters, the affable Canadian pot-enthusiast (and, sure, actor, screenwriter, producer, and director) assured Kimmel that all his products—smoke-able and not—have been rigorously field-tested by himself and lifetime creative partner Evan Goldberg. While Canada is totally cool with allowing Rogen’s online THC empire to thrive, only Californians can currently purchase “curated” strains such as Pancake Ice, Diablo Wind, and, of course, Pineapple Express here in the uptight U.S. (You can buy an ashtray no matter where you live.)

Rogen, long a campaigner for the legalization (hell, the celebration) of marijuana, has spoken elsewhere at length about how fortunate he is (as a white, rich, movie star) to be able to reap the benefits of a trade that sees millions of non-white people languishing in prisons for the same thing. That said, he told Kimmel that his brand expansion into the gradually legalizing pot business has been, essentially, what he’s been training for his entire life. Noting that he has given weed “an amount of thought that would humiliate a lot of people,” Rogen was happy to admit that he was, as is his way, stoned at that very moment, and that de-stigmatizing recreational use of marijuana is just one more beneficial side effect to his longtime pastime. Not that it hasn’t gotten on top of him once in a while.

Explaining that the American market in edibles isn’t as standardized as its Canadian counterpart (Rogen’s started selling THC-infused drinks there), the actor did relate that he was once so sucker-punched by a weed lollipop that he freaked out a noted drug lord. Okay, it was fictional meth kingpin (but actual booze-merchant) Bryan Cranston, but, as Rogen explained, when Walter White looks into your eyes at a Golden Globes afterparty and asks, concernedly, “Are you okay?,” it’s “an alarming question.” Especially when, as the “zonked” Rogen apparently did at the time, you imagined that you were holding things together quite well on national television. Calling the American edibles quality control still something of a “scattershot” prospect, Rogen said that his company will wait a bit until the production process gets its act together. He is a responsible businessman, after all.

 
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