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Remember in 2015 when Kanye admitted to smoking “a little something” before announcing he would run for president in 2020 at the VMA’s?  Yeah, I’m sure you remember.

But Kanye wasn’t the first to admit to blazing before an awards show.  Back in 1991, another stoned star glided across the big stage to receive an even more prestigious award, an Oscar.  

 

Whoopi Goldberg, now best known for co-hosting The View, admitted that she sparked up a jay before winning Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Ghost (1990).  To her own amusement, her own mom even called her out after the awards ceremony, saying she looked “high as hell.” (Who wouldn’t want to show up to an awards ceremony high af?) But now, Whoopi isn’t just getting high, in fact, in 2016, she launched her own medical cannabis line, Whoopi & Maya, specifically catered to women.  Branded as “synergistic products that significantly relieve PMS, menstrual discomfort and cramps” the line includes THC and CBD infused topicals, tinctures, raw sipping chocolates, and bath soaks.  Available in both California and Colorado, you can find out more here.

Part of Whoopi’s inspiration to create Whoopi & Maya comes from treating her own ailments with cannabis.  In the past she has admitted to using medical marijuana for years to treat her glaucoma. A non-curable medical condition, glaucoma gradually causes vision loss from pressure built up in the eye’s optic nerve known as intraocular pressure or “IOP”.  Conditions tend to affect people later in life and possible treatments include surgery and laser treatment, but neither are long term solutions.  Fortunately, Whoopi has credited cannabis with lowering her IOP, and in particular her vape pen “Sippy” has helped her easily medicate without the side effects of smoking and complications that come with a desktop vaporizer.  She describes her high as “a gentle, warm breeze at the beach” and now strongly recommends it to friends over taking prescription drugs or popping Advils.

 

You go Whoopi and Maya! Thank you for making a difference in women’s medical care.

Back in 1997, Rick Simpson was working as an engineer in a Canadian hospital tasked with covering asbestos on ceiling pipes in the hospital’s boiler room.  The work was difficult since the room lacked proper air circulation and was filled with toxic fumes.  Suddenly, Rock Simpson experienced a nervous system shock that caused him to fall off his ladder and hit his head.  

After receiving treatment from a local hospital, Rick tried to go back to his normal life.  However, he continued to experience sudden dizzy spells and a ringing between his ears following the accident.  Unfortunately his medication barely worked, sometimes even worsening his symptoms.  

Rick knew he needed help but didn’t know where to find it.  That’s when he saw a documentary promoting the medicinal benefits of cannabis, and despite his doctor’s disapproval, began using cannabis to treat his symptoms.  For those of you who treat your own tinnitus and sudden dizzy spells with cannabis, you might know what happens next–Rick observed a significant improvement in his symptoms.

Unfortunately, this was just the beginning for Rick.  In 2003, he woke up to three seemingly cancerous bumps on his arm.  His doctor confirmed that he was in fact suffering from a form of skin cancer known as basal cell carcinoma.  Since Rick had successfully treated his past symptoms with cannabis, he figured he’d give it a try once more, only this time using a concentrated cannabis oil.  Rick had read about THC being used to kill cancerous cell growth in mice, and decided that a concentrated cannabis oil could best serve this purpose if applied topically.  

After making a batch of oil, Rick applied some to his arm and wrapped it in bandages. Four days later, the cancerous bumps were gone.

Although his doctor refused to believe he could actually cure his own skin cancer with cannabis, Rick saw himself as living proof of the effectiveness of cannabis treatment. The oil he made, now known as Rick Simpson Oil, or RSO, has been used to treat thousands of patient, 5,000 of which Rick Simpson himself treated free of charge.  Conditions that have been treated with RSO include:  cancer, diabetes, crohn’s disease, gout, pain relief, Glaucoma, Opioid Dependence, treating alcohol abuse, epilepsy, psoriasis, anorexia, asthma, adrenal disease, inflammatory bowel disease, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, pain, migraines, Dravet syndrome, Doose syndrome, and Multiple sclerosis.  Patients typically administer RSO orally, and follow a dosage chart available from Rick’s site: http://phoenixtears.ca/.  There you can find an abundance of resources to learn more about Rick’s journey and RSO.

For those interested in treatment, Rick Simpson suggests making your own RSO, however this can be difficult for some.  There are some outlets offering RSO online but be extremely careful.  Many sites list hemp oil (made from the stalk of the cannabis plant instead of the flower) as RSO, which allows them to ship across the United States.  Be careful, as hemp oil does not contain THC and lacks the same properties as RSO.  Also be careful of anyone claiming to be or have any association with Rick Simpson as he promotes himself solely through his own website.  Despite the name, RSO producers have no association with Rick Simpson. If you are a California resident with a medical recommendation, we suggest visiting http://caliproper.com/ .  They produce quality, all-natural RSO that ships anywhere in-state.

Thanks for reading about Rick Simpson and RSO!  If you have had any experience with RSO be sure to let us know in the comments below.

 

The following article contains information and quotes directly from Alien Neighbors, Foreign Friends: Asian Americans, Housing, and the Transformation of Urban California. Check out the book if you are interested in learning more.  

Any guess about where racial segregation began probably starts with the American South.  However, the first instance of residential segregation based on race actually occurred in an unlikely place–on the other side of the country, in San Francisco, California.

From 1848 to 1855, California experienced a gold rush that lead hundreds of thousands of people to the West Coast in search of riches.  While mostly American, these people included Chinese, Mexican, British, and Australian immigrants.  Due to their distinctive dress and highly recognizable appearance in the goldfields, Chinese immigrants suffered from intense racial prejudice and violence.  The 1852 Foreign Miners Tax charged Chinese miners $3 a month in tax and in an area known as Rich Gulch, 200 Chinese miners were robbed and 4 were killed.  Unfortunately, violence and discrimination only worsened.

With the gold deposits drying up, many frustrated Americans blamed Chinese immigrants for stealing all of the gold for themselves.  These sentiments brewed intense hatred for the Chinese, which forced them to live together for safety in what was the start of Chinatown.

By the 1870s, nearly three decades before African-American segregation became commonplace in the American South, Chinese immigrants were being kept racially segregated from White Americans.  The heated animosity towards Chinese immigrants that started during the Gold Rush had developed into something more sinister.  Now, the Chinese were being described by Americans as subhuman, filthy creatures that needed to be kept away from the rest of the public.   So how was this accomplished?

Well, as mentioned, violence forced Chinese immigrants to join together in Chinatown for protection and safety.  Mark Twain in his 1871 book Roughing It, describes how an inoffensive Chinese man was stoned to death while a crowd watched, refusing to interfere. Corroborating this type of violence, Chinese consul Zhang Yinhuan pointed out that White San Franciscans “have been burning, pillaging, robbing and killing” Chinese residents for years.  

These accounts are troubling but help explain how racial segregation was beginning to to take shape.  Next, new attempts sprang up to prevent Chinese residents from living in any part of San Francisco.  In 1885, the mayor signed a resolution ordering all Chinese to leave the city and in 1890, the Bingham Ordinance was passed which mandated that all Chinese residents must leave San Francisco within 60 days.  Fortunately, a group of Chinese merchants successfully challenged the legality of such orders.  However, just because Chinese residents kept their homes in San Francisco does not mean that they were free to move elsewhere in the city, away from Chinatown.  

Due to overpopulation, many Chinese residents wanted to leave Chinatown despite the violence that occurred on the outside.  Yet, in the most obvious example of racial segregation, they were prevented from buying houses anywhere outside of Chinatown.  According to the secretary of the Chinese Y.W.C.A, who was tasked to locate any homes available to Chinese tenants outside of Chinatown, “no favorable replies” could be found.  Homeowner associations had formed racial restrictive covenants that prevented Chinese tenants from living in neighborhoods such as Richmond or Twin Peaks because they were not entirely “of the Caucasian race.”  In language directly from the 19th century, “‘Let the Chinese stay below Stockton.  This is a white man’s land.”’  Chinese home seekers simply had no other options outside of what was already sectioned for them.  

The filthy conditions of Chinatown can also be partially traced back to city authorities.  Since they believed the Chinese were intrinsically lesser beings, they allowed White business owners to setup brothels, saloons, shooting galleries and other typically unwelcomed services in Chinatown.  In turn, White San Franciscans pointed towards these businesses to reinforce negative stereotypes of Chinese residents.  Chinatown was not merely a district where certain residents were forced to live, it was where city authorities believed they could satisfy vices without compromising White neighborhoods.  To make matters worse, newspapers also ran sensationalized stories of rampant opium use, gang warfare, and prostitution to capitalize on any biases associated with Chinatown.

To summarize, we typically think of racial segregation in the context of the American South.  However, we should remember that racial segregation was not limited to one geographical location, and that San Francisco contained segregated spaces before the end of reconstruction and the start of Jim Crow laws.  This segregation was enforced through violence that pushed Chinese immigrants into their own enclave, but also through racially restrictive agreements that prevented Chinese tenants from living in White neighborhoods.  City authorities attempted to evict Chinese residents entirely from San Francisco, and although these efforts failed, Chinatown was degraded with unwelcomed businesses that helped cement negative portrayals of Chinese immigrants in the minds of White San Franciscans. If there is any doubt whether racial segregation actually occurred in San Francisco, just remember what one Chinese man said when asked about the prospect of leaving Chinatown.

5.Half Baked

With a young Dave Chappelle as the lead, it is easy to see why Half Baked deserves a spot on our list.  The plot is fairly straightforward.  Thurgood Jenkins (Chappelle) and his roommates decide to sell weed in order to pay for their friend’s $100,000 bail.  After making a few sales to everyday stoners, their business, Mr. Nice Guy, attracts the attention of a local drug dealer that complicates matters. Thurgood must be careful not to disclose his weed business with his romantic interest Mary Jane Potman (yes that’s really her name), whose stance on weed resembles Jeff Sessions.  You can forget everything you just read, just watch it see Chappelle.

 

4.Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

A stoner classic, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is an essential watch for any stoner.  After toking up a bit, Harold and Kumar agree on White Castle to satisfy their munchies; however, getting there is a little more difficult than it should be.  An impromptu surgery, a Neil Patrick Harris high on ecstasy, and a sesh with a cheetah are a few of the many highlights. Definitely grab some friends and some snacks to watch this one.

 

3.Friday

“Bye, Felicia.”  Friday has achieved something few movies have accomplished–its effectively embedded itself in popular culture.  With a series of memorable one-liners and hilarious characters, Friday tells the story of two friends in South Central Los Angeles.  On a Friday, Craig (Ice Cube) and Smokey (Chris Tucker) must  pay their local drug dealers $200 by the end of the day.  Along the way they observe the on-goings of their neighborhood, from a local Pastor trying to cop a couple grams of bud for free to a local bully harassing anyone in his sights.

 

2.Inherent Vice

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice definitely stands in opposition to some of the other films listed.  It’s not a goofy stoner comedy, but rather a surrealist crime drama/thriller that actually makes you feel high while watching regardless of how stoned you are.  The plot follows Joaquin Noah’s character, Doc, a private investigator and certified stoner, who must find a series of missing peoples.  Driven by confusion and uncertainty, Doc’s actions complicate an already disorienting movie.  There are few intentions to clear things up and curveballs occur frequently.  It almost seems as though Anderson is trying to play with your subconscious. Stoned or not, the film is captivating and deserves repeated viewings.

 

1.The Big Lebowski

The Dude wouldn’t have it any other way.  The Big Lebowski is a certified cult classic.  Jeff Bridges (Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski) gets caught up in kidnapping incident after having his identity mistaken.  This sets off a chain of events which includes his car getting wrecked after The Dude and his friend (John Goodman) interrogate a teenager in one of the movie’s funniest scenes.  Amongst the chaos, the dude just wants to smoke a little pot and go bowling with his buddies. 

 

 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your top 5 stoner movies in the comments below. 🙂