Pot legend Tommy Chong has his own talk show! The Grammy Award-winning comedian is at the helm of the “counterculture variety show” Almost Legal with Tommy Chong. The satirical new series is in the vein of traditional late-night talk shows, with interviews, musical guests and comedy skits.
Tommy’s son Paris pitched the idea when the elder Chong was diagnosed with rectal cancer and had to stop touring. Chong tells High Times, “Paris convinced me that I could use my time off to do a talk show—no traveling, and less stress on me. We’ve done about 10 episodes, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s a new endeavor for me.”
It’s also a new era, Chong proclaims. “I’m dealing with another generation that didn’t grow up with Cheech & Chong, so it’s very exciting. And the way marijuana is becoming legal—we’re breaking new ground in so many different ways.”
Celebrity guests appearing on upcoming episodes of Almost Legal include Eli Roth, Killer Mike, Roy Choi, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Modest Mouse. When asked whom he’d like to have on the show next, Chong says he’d welcome any of the Republican presidential hopefuls. “I would love to have any of them on the show. I would love to have Donald Trump on the show! The Republicans—they’re a desperate bunch. They remind me of a pond of koi fish trying to be fed. There are so many of them, and they’ve all got their mouths open.”
The show is more intellectual than one might expect, Chong tells us. “It’s not the dumb stoner approach: ‘Let’s get high and say stupid things.’ It’s the opposite of that. I spend a lot of time talking about how we treat cancer with marijuana. It’s very informative.”
When asked about his use of Rick Simpson oil (RSO) to treat his cancer, Chong is philosophical: “Simpson oil works differently on different people. Unfortunately it didn’t stop the rectal cancer. I had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. I was treating everything with the RSO. I’m not totally convinced one way or the other—all I know is that I use it for the pain. When I get to that point when the pain is too much, my wife tells me to ‘go get high.’ The Simpson oil is an undocumented treatment. Cancer doctors are skeptical, and well they should be, because the success rate of non-radiation treatments isn’t very high… I use Simpson oil, but I’m doing everything else as well.”
Does the counterculture legend have a favorite strain to medicate with? “Not really,” Chong confesses. “It’s all just pot. Just give it to me. I wish I could tell the difference, but I’ve been smoking so long… either I’m high, or I’m about to get high.”
Tommy Chong has graced the cover of High Times a record eight times—more than any other celebrity smoker. He’s been an outspoken advocate for weed “right from the very beginning,” he declares. Now he’s got a whole new platform to deliver his pot-positive message from.
Almost Legal with Tommy Chong will be distributed by FilmOn.com, air on FOTV over Dish Network, and will be syndicated to WeedMaps, in addition to the show’s YouTube channel.
