Shows / Great Moments in Weed History
Great Moments in Weed History
Great Moments in Weed History delves deep into humanity's 10,000+ year relationship with cannabis (a.k.a. marijuana) to explore the humor, heart, and historical importance of the planet's most revered and maligned plant. Hosted by David Bienenstock.
Episodes
- Great Moments in Weed History
From 'High Times' to 'Reefer Dadness'
Rick Cusick has worn many hats since first getting lit in the 1970s—editor, author, activist, advocate and agitator. He also raised a child solo while serving…
- Great Moments in Weed History
America's Best Dispensary Has Deep Roots
Since 1990, Housing Works has been actively supporting NYC's unhoused population and people with HIV/AIDS through advocacy, mutual support and…
- Great Moments in Weed History
An Outlaw Weed Smuggler Started The World's Most Prestigious Pot Contest
Tim Blake has proliferated the cannabis plant since the early 1970s. About twenty years ago, he left the outlaw life behind to put himself on the frontlines of…
- Great Moments in Weed History
A 1972 Study Had 20 Young Women Smoke Weed for 98 Days In Total Isolation
This story is pretty wild, extremely weedy, and most people have never heard of it before—including our guest, the esteemed weed journalist Mary Jane Gibson…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Dennis Peron Put the Grass in Grassroots
After discovering the healing power of weed while serving in Vietnam, Dennis Peron smuggled two pounds of high-grade herb home. From there he became a…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Hip-Hop Lit The Fuse of Weed Freedom w/ Fab 5 Freddy
From starring in the first-ever movie about hip-hop and graffiti, to hosting Yo! MTV Raps, Fab 5 Freddy has been a weed aficionado at the forefront of…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Where Do Weed Strains Come From?
Breeder Steve started growing weed in Canada in the 1980s, and went on to create some of the most popular strains of the last thirty years. So he's the perfect…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Dropping Acid on Bicycle Day (4/20 Special Episode w/ Shane Mauss)
On April 19, 1943 Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hoffman took the world's first LSD trip, which included a rather harrowing bicycle ride home from his lab that day…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Carl Sagan and His Best Bud Get Blazed and Save the Universe
As we gaze upon the Cosmos, let's remember Carl Sagan, the famed astronomer who attributed his most powerful epiphanies to the creative influence of cannabis…
- Great Moments in Weed History
This Total Solar Eclipse Is Gonna Be Trippy AF
What's the most psychedelic experience you can have on Earth without ingesting so much as a microdose? A solar eclipse, no question—but you've got to be in the…
- Great Moments in Weed History
The Epic Tail of Ganjasaurus Rex (featuring Jon Gabrus)
From the depths of the ocean, a mythical weed-loving monster arises to wreak havoc on the authorities who attempt to eradicate her favorite plant. Would you…
- Great Moments in Weed History
I Answered Reddit's Weed Questions
The internet has burning questions about getting lit. So GMIWH took a week off from getting high on history to jump into the r/trees subreddit and drop some…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Meet Magu—China's Ancient Hemp Goddess
Let's head back to 2700 BC to meet an ancient Chinese hemp goddess who lived on a mountaintop full of cannabis plants where she brewed the elixir of life. And…
- Great Moments in Weed History
The Outlaw Weed Mayor of Lake Tahoe
Cody Bass is a second generation outlaw who fought the law and lost, but never lost faith in cannabis. Today he’s a successful weed business owner, and the…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Meet Mila—Amsterdam's Hashish Queen
Mila Jansen first scored hash down on the docks in 1964, smuggled into Amsterdam by sailors from exotic ports of call. She soon after opened an early…
- Great Moments in Weed History
BAKE TO THE FUTURE: The Year in Weed + 2024 Predictions
We turned a crystal ball into a bong. Then we invited Leafly Senior Editor David Downs to smoke the strain of the year out of it and make predications for the…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Holidaze Special: Trippin' Balls with Santa Claus
Explore St. Nick’s psychedelic shamanic roots in Siberia in the only Christmas Special where Santa gifts you magic mushrooms and even the reindeer get high AF!…
- Great Moments in Weed History
How "Wooks" Pass the Torch of Weed Wisdom
In an age of corporate cannabis, who keeps authentic weed culture alive? In a time of abundant strains and concentrates, whose tastes define hashish…
- Great Moments in Weed History
The Pot Prince of Bel-Air
Todd McCormick’s weed journey began when his mom handed him a joint on the way home from chemotherapy. As a survivor of pediatric cancer, he later advocated…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Freaky Beatniks Smoked Tea and Started the Legalization Movement
Emerging in the conformist 1950s, the Beat subculture pushed back against corporatism and consumerism in favor of a contemplatively nonconformist lifestyle…
- Great Moments in Weed History
How Weed Growing Went Global (w/ Jorge Cervantes)
In 1983, an outlaw weed grower pseudonymously published Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, a truly game changing book that sparked a global movement. In the forty…
- Great Moments in Weed History
From Rope to Dope
Cannabis activist Ellen Komp has been on the frontlines of the fight to end weed arrests and provide safe access to this incredible medicinal plant for…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Help Save America's Weed-basket!
When a bunch of lawyers and shadowy political operators pushed a ballot initiative in Humboldt County, California that could destroy the legal weed industry in…
- Great Moments in Weed History
From 'Bong Boy' to Pot Humorist
Whether portraying Bong Boy as part of the Upright Citizens Brigade or taping his solo stand-up special at a weed lounge, comedian Matt Besser never shies away…
- Great Moments in Weed History
What Your Doctor Don’t Know (or Won’t Tell You) About Medical Marijuana
Cannabis has profound therapeutic properties, providing healing relief from ailments ranging from chronic pain and insomnia to cancer, seizure disorders, MS…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Planting Cannabis on the DEA’s Front Lawn Led to Washington, DC Legalizing It
The weed legalization movement has always embraced street theater, a tactic Adam Eidinger certainly put to good use the time he led a giveaway of 10,000 joints…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Speaking Truth to Flower
The War on Weed first started crumbling because of courageous cannabis patients like John, a super chill, funny and cool person to share some herb with who…
- Great Moments in Weed History
7/10 Special: Hash's High Holiday w/ Roger from Puffco
Our annual celebration of cannabis concentrates explores the global phenomenon of contemporary hash with one of the leading innovators in the scene. Puffco…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Corruption, Lawsuits and Moldy Bud—WTF’s Going On With Legal Weed?
Journalism is the first draft of history—so who better to explain the rapidly evolving cannabis scene of 2023 than a couple of dedicated reporters on the weed…
- Great Moments in Weed History
America's 1st Legal Weed Patient Smoked 10 Joints a Day Supplied By the Feds
Starting in 1976, the National Institute on Drug Abuse supplied Robert Randall with enough government-grown cannabis to treat his severe glaucoma. While…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Chef Roy Choi's Korean Tacos Kickstarted Stoner Cuisine
"Weed taught me how to be American," chef Roy Choi says of his favorite leafy green. Weed also inspired his most iconic creation–the Kogi taco–easily one of…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Cannabis in the Ancient World
The archeological evidence proving weed played a central role in ancient spiritual practices—including the Judeo-Christian tradition—is irrefutable. But just…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Inside Thailand's Weed Revolution
With a homegrown cannabis culture dating back to antiquity, and a well-established reputation for growing the world's finest weed, Thailand has long ranked as…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Let's Overgrow the Government!
It's a call to farms! If everyone with the legal ability to home grow their own weed gets started right now, by this fall we'll be flooded with so much…
- Great Moments in Weed History
4/20 Started w/ a Treasure Map to a Weed Garden
Get lit and settle in for our annual re-telling of the incredible true story of 4/20. We trace the origins of this high holiday to a single weed crew in the…
- Great Moments in Weed History
2nd Annual Weed-A-Thon
Time to roll a joint, split a blunt, pack a bong, endabulate a dab—or do all of that everywhere all at once. Because it's the freaking Weed-A-Thon, my friends!…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Weed History in the Middle East
In a fertile band stretching from North Africa to Southeast Asia, cannabis cultivation and hashish production dates back countless centuries. From the ancient…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Can Hemp Really Save the World?
Cannabis and hemp are the same plant put to different uses. One varietal gets you lit, one helps you through chemo, while others make incredibly strong rope or…
- Great Moments in Weed History
The History of Hip Hop is Lit (feat. Busy Bee)
Since 1977, legendary MC Busy Bee has been rocking crowds and smoking loud as one of the true originators of hip hop music, style and culture. He was there for…
- Great Moments in Weed History
How Underground Comix Spread Outlaw Weed Culture
Getting high featured prominently in the work of many underground comix artists of the 1970s, from R. Crumb's "Mr. Natural" and "Stoned Again" to Kim Deitch's…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Let's Nerd Out About Weed
From terpenes to THC, the biochemistry of the cannabis plant is endlessly fascinating. So get yourself rolled up and ready to delve into "the weeds" with…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Meet the Brains Behind the OG Guide to Growing Weed
In 1970, Bill Drake wrote the first modern guide to growing cannabis. Despite an FBI campaign to suppress this groundbreaking book, The Cultivator's Handbook…
- Great Moments in Weed History
The Year in Weed 2022 + Trippin' Balls w/ Santa Claus
It's been a wild year in the world of weed, and we're ready to get lit and reflect on the highs and lows. Starting with an in-depth look at the most shocking…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Rush Guitarist Alex Lifeson: "We Only Stop for the Best"
A confirmed cannabis connoisseur since the 1960s, Alex Lifeson reveals how smoking weed fuels his creative process, helps him heal the aches and pains of five…
- Great Moments in Weed History
"Keep Pot Weird" with Reggie Watts
Cannabis fuels the creative journey of comedian, musician, and improviser Reggie Watts, as he explains in this highly insightful interview that starts with a…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Celebrating Legal Weed's 10th Anniversary!
In November 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington State legalized cannabis for all adults, lighting a grassfire of weedy liberation that's been blazing…
- Great Moments in Weed History
The Weed for Speed
Randy Lanier began driving race cars in 1978. His weed dealing career began even earlier. Along the way, he competed at Le Mans, won the 1984 IMSA Camel GT…
- Great Moments in Weed History
The Godfather of Glass
The earliest ceremonial smoking devices date back 2,400 years, to ancient Scythian tribal chiefs who blazed hashish out of solid gold bongs. While the history…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Damian Marley: "Ganja is the Healing of the Nations"
Cannabis is a spiritual and creative inspiration—according to multi-Grammy winner Damian Marley—but also just a beloved part of day-to-day life. Weed is also a…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Laganja Estranja Dragged Weed into Reality TV
Nobody ever repped cannabis louder or prouder on TV than Laganja Estranja did on RuPaul’s Drag Race. An overnight weed icon, she's since become an advocate and…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Great Weed Moments in TV History (w/ Ashley Ray)
Turn on, tune in, and check out this special "joint" episode celebrating a selection of great TV weed moments as selected by writer, comedian and fellow stoner…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Stoners! We Gotta Boycott Krispy Kreme
Traditionally, two bitterly oppositional groups love sweet, sweet donuts—cops and stoners. So when news leaked that one of America's most beloved national…
- Great Moments in Weed History
The Secret Sesh vs. Corporate Weed
For ten years, the Secret Sesh in Los Angeles has brought together true OGs from all walks of life to see, smell, smoke and celebrate their favorite plant…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Bean Told Tucker Carlson to STFU About Weed
The legalization debate reached the US Senate this week, prompting us to recall the time Tucker Carlson had to say the words "Great Moments in Weed History."…
- Great Moments in Weed History
The World's Best Rock Climbers Find a Crashed Plane Full of Weed
In 1976, a pair of Vietnam vets turned international weed smugglers loaded a twin-engine airplane with 6,000 pounds of primo sinsemilla bud known as Mota…
- Great Moments in Weed History
How Growers Foiled the Cops in Humboldt County
When police in black helicopters started descending on Humboldt County, CA to bring 'death from above' to illicit cannabis grows, the locals banded together…
- Great Moments in Weed History
We Get 'High & Mighty' w/ Jon Gabrus
Take a break from the world's troubles and get blazed with comedian Jon Gabrus upon the premiere of his new TruTV show 101 Places to Party Before You Die…
- Great Moments in Weed History
7/10 SPECIAL: Psychedelic Surfers Invented Dabs
To honor the high hashish holiday, we're celebrating the surfing, smuggling, LSD evangelists known as the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. That commune's…
- Great Moments in Weed History
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Weed (But Were Afraid to Ask)
In this special episode, we answer your burning questions about cannabis—from "How do I get my Mom high?" to "What will the world of weed look like in ten…
- Great Moments in Weed History
"Free Weed For Those in Need!"
In 1996, Sweet Leaf Collective began bicycle-delivering donated cannabis to terminally-ill AIDS patients. By "running tight game," Sweetleaf's founder flew…