Great Moments in Weed History

What was it like to be the in-house weed cookie dealer at Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC during the legendary improv theater's glory days? Our guest John Flynn tells all in his new memoir Baked!—and we give him credit for providing creative inspiration to a cultural institution that launched the careers of many of today's top comedic talents.Founded in 2004 by Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, Horatio Sanz and Drew Franklin, the theater and school helped launch the careers of Paul Scheer, ,Kate McKinnon, Jon Gabrus, Aubrey Plaza, Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, , Ed Helms, Aubrey Plaza, Zach Woods, Nicole Byer, Bobby Moynihan, Andrew Daly, Jason Mantzoukas, Nick Kroll, Donald Glover, Ben Schwartz, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson (Broad City), Chris Gerhard and many, many others.From baking his first batch of THC-infused treats to help fund his musical tribute to the movie Showgirls, to a run-in with FedEx that became the moment his weed cookie empire crumbled, John shares the highs (and occasional lows) of a very sweet ride.SPONSORED BY EMJAY DELIVERYIf you'd like to try California's best cannabis yourself, without leaving home, head over to Emjay Delivery and remember to use promo code GREATMOMENTS (all one word) for 10% off your first order, 15% off your second order, and 20% off your third order. Abdullah and Bean both highly recommend this excellent service with incredible cannabis and unbeatable prices.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our Great Moments in Weed History podcast feed for 60+ episodes of our classic format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. 

The Emerald Cup began in 2003 as an underground locals-only harvest celebration among outdoor organic cannabis growers in Northern California’s famed Emerald Triangle. They kept the first-ever contest a secret from the sheriff by pretending it was a birthday party.Today, the Emerald Cup is the world's most prestigious cannabis competition, drawing 30,000+ pot-lovers to a "state fair for weed" complete with its own awards show. And this year Abdullah and Bean both participated in the judging process! So roll one up and settle in for an incredible ride.Along the way you'll learn how to judge cannabis for yourself (without becoming judgmental),, discover some of the best flower, concentrates, edibles, topicals, tinctures and weed drinks on the market, and get inspired to host your own weed cup at home!Episode also includes a special appearance from Woody Harrelson, some serious terp-talk thanks to SC Labs, and a big shout out to Emerald Cup impresarios Tim and Taylor Blake.SPONSORED BY EMJAY DELIVERYIf you'd like to try California's best cannabis yourself, without leaving home, head over to Emjay Delivery and remember to use promo code GREATMOMENTS (all one word) for 10% off your first order, 15% off your second order, and 20% off your third order. Abdullah and Bean both highly recommend this excellent service with incredible cannabis and unbeatable prices.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our Great Moments in Weed History podcast feed for 60+ episodes of our classic format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. 

Social equity programs designed to remediate the damage done by the War on Marijuana have all-too-often had the opposite effect. To find out why, Abdullah and Bean share a sesh with top-drawer cannabis journalist Amanda Chicago Lewis and discuss her new article in the New Republic: "Legalized Pot Was Supposed to Help Build Black Wealth in Los Angeles. It Failed."From shady politicians to venture capital d-bags, she explains what's gone wrong, and how those lessons can be applied to legalization laws in the rest of the country—and around the world.We also discuss how Amanda's 2014 Rolling Stone article about the Pamela Anderson / Tommy Lee sex tape was adopted into the Hulu series Pam & Tommy.Also mentioned in the episode, her 2017 GQ article that blew the whistle on a secret plan to patent cannabis.For more on that subject, check out Bean's subsequent investigative series for Leafly.And for more on social equity in Los Angeles, check out Abdullah's reporting for public radio station KCRW.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our Great Moments in Weed History podcast feed for 60+ episodes of our classic format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. 

Hop in our hot box time machine set for 1991 Grateful Dead tour, where a "kind bud snob" named Greg first encountered the incredible weed varietal he named "Chemdog." A moniker that Greg then took on himself while spending the next 20 years cultivating and circulating this foundational gas strain..Chemdog (the man and the strain) in many ways paved the way for modern cannabis, but that road definitely had its rough patches. Hear this incredible story straight from the legend himself, as he tells Abdullah and Bean about being a tour legend, "helping out" Phish and the New York Giants, getting busted, and coming out on the other side as a legal master cultivator.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our Great Moments in Weed History podcast feed for 60+ episodes of our classic format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. 

Celebrate today's high holiday with the story of Jack Herer—the man, the myth, and the strain that changed the weed game forever. This is the legendary tale of how a cannabis-hating rightwing military police officer had his life transformed forever the first time he got high (really, really high) off some Acapulco Gold and became the leading voice of the weed resistance.From writing his classic cannabis conspiracy book The Emperor Wears No Clothes, to rediscovering a US government propaganda film called Hemp for Victory, to traveling the country tirelessly with his band of cannabis evangelists, this one-man movement inspired an entire generation of activists and agitators and helped usher in the beginning of the end of the War on Weed.If you only know Jack Herer the incredible strain of cannabis, well, then, you don't know Jack. But you will after experiencing this special live episode, recorded at the Green Street building in Los Angeles.Very special thanks to our sponsors for this episode, High 90s, Podtones, Big Pete's Treats and Heavy Hitters.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 60+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. 

Abdullah and Bean get high non-stop in this very special episode, fueled by the huge stash of cannabis and edibles they've been tasked with judging as part of the prestigious Emerald Cup competition. Along the way, we talk about the history of this podcast, our big plans for 4/20, our favorite past episodes of the show and, of course, what it's like to judge a prestigious weed contest.It's also a Weed-a-Thon because this episode is our first-annual crowdsource fundraiser encouraging avid listeners to support Great Moments in Weed History on Patreon. All of our Patreon supporters get access to special video versions of the podcast, plus bonuses and special rewards.Special thanks to all the brands mentioned in this episode, including Tweedle Farms (use the promo code "greatmoments" for 20% off), Podtones, High90s, Dee Thai Tropical Gummies,. Rose Delights Deep Sleep Gummies, Potli, Space Gems and Oasis,EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 60+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. 

Social media deletes, throttles and shadow-bans weed related accounts regularly, often without warning and with clear bias against independent creators. When YouTube erased Arend Richard's account "The Gay Stoner" with nearly 200K subscribers, he did get mad, but he also got even by bringing together a group of prominent "weed tubers" to form their own independent platform.Abdullah and Bean talk with Arend about the highs and lows of fighting the system. While exploring the suppression of cannabis education and entertainment as a free speech issue that's all-too-often ignored in the raging debate about cancel culture.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 60+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. 

Cannabis is a sacred plant in Shinto and Sumo wrestling—two of Japan's oldest and most vital traditions. And hemp was once the island nation's second biggest crop, after rice.Marijuana prohibition arrived via the American military occupation that followed World War II, Ironically, it's now the success of legalization activists in the United States that's inspiring a movement of homegrown advocates to return cannabis to its rightfully exalted place in Japanese culture.In this episode, Abdullah and Bean talk with Naoko Miki, co-founder of Green Zone Japan, a leading organization pushing for the rights of medical cannabis patients.CHANGE.ORG PETITIONThis is the change.org petition referenced in the episode, regarding the case of Ryujiro Oyabu, a celebrated ceramic artist who is currently challenging Japan's federal ban on cannabis. Please sign and share with your friends.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 50+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. 

From Afghanistan's Kush Mountains, to LA's early 90s hydro grows, the story of game-changing weed strain OG Kush is one of the greatest cannabis tales ever told—with cameo appearances from Cypress Hill, Xzibit, Snoop Dogg, and Dre Dre. But this fascinating history was completely hidden until very recently, when the original growers who put the OG in OG Kush finally came forward to claim their glory.So roll up a fat joint of this skunky, lemony, piney legend (or whatever you've got to smoke), and settle in for a sesh with Abdullah and Bean as they give you the inside dope on the ultimate high-status strain.HIGH 90S This episode of Great Moments in Weed History is sponsored by High 90s.Their Nineties OG Kush is a cross of San Fernando Valley Hindu Kush x Chemdawg that’s got all the incredible flavor, potency and soaring high that made OG Kush one of the all-time game changing cannabis strains. .High 90's is also launching two new OG strains this month! White Fire OG, a collaboration with OG Raskal and Mamba OG in stores across Southern California. And don’t sleep on their other strains!EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 50+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday, including these special Moment in Weed episodes.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. 

A new report confirms the cannabis industry added over 100,000 new jobs last year —a 33% increase—so there's never been a better time to start your legal weed career. But whether you're a hardcore trapper looking to come in from the cold, a supply-chain specialist hoping to ditch your boring widget gig for a cool weed one, or a young person seeking something entry level, gaining entree into your first green job can be daunting.Enter Abdullah and Bean, who offer solid advice for finding and landing your dream job based on their decades of experience in and around the industry. Plus, our usual dose of silly nonsense and serious weed puns.Here's the 2022 Leafly Jobs Report referenced throughout the episode.Visit our podcast feed for 50+ episodes of our classic Great Moments in Weed History format, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday, including these special Moment in Weed episodes.PATREONPlease support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible.