

Great Moments in Weed History
David Bienenstock
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
Mentioned books

Jan 24, 2024 • 59min
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 mayor of Lake Tahoe, California—the very jurisdiction where the authorities once literally tried to run him out of town. EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , 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

Jan 10, 2024 • 52min
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 forerunner of that city’s legendary cannabis coffeeshops, before spending many years living in India, Afghanistan, and other traditional hashish producing regions. And then, upon returning home, she absolutely changed the game as one of Amsterdam’s top cannabis growers and the inventor of an era-defining device for modern hash makers called the Pollinator. Best of all, she’s still getting high, and setting trends today.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , 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

Dec 28, 2023 • 55min
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 future of cannabis. After reviewing the highs (and lows) of a tumultuous year, we see a bright, green future for the plant, the culture, and the industry in 2024 (and beyond). So please get lit and join us, as we go Bake to the Future.STRAIN OF THE YEAREach year, based on extensive smoking and hard data, Leafly selects the strain of the year. Check out 2023’s winner.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 90+ 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

Dec 13, 2023 • 1h 2min
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!So hang on to your sleigh bells, because it's time for Abdullah and Bean's annual re-telling of this classic story as we celebrate the holiday season with Amanita muscaria mushrooms, weed-infused cookies, extra oil to dab for Chanukah and plenty of fermented yak milk.Special thanks to Harvard professor Donald Pfister for his enlightening annual lecture on Psychedelic Santa! Check out Doubleblind magazine and MAPS for more information on psychedelics.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , 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

Nov 29, 2023 • 47min
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 connoisseurship. Wooks, that's who!Named for the Wookies in the Star Wars universe—Chewbacca being the most well known example —and found primarily hanging around outside concerts and festivals, wooks are noble, gentle creatures dedicated to living in the moment, getting lit and following their bliss.So we seshed with real-life cannabis couple (and self-described wooks) Cass Greener and Sean Dunne—the filmmaking team behind the new documentary film Wooks—about the central role that wookies have played in shaping and spreading cannabis culture throughout the live music scene.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , 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

Nov 15, 2023 • 1h 2min
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 for the plant’s legalization alongside legends of the cannabis movement like Jack Herer, Brownie Mary, Dennis Peron and Dr. Lester Grinspoon.Getting busted for growing medical cannabis at a mansion in Bel-Air made him an international cannabis cause célèbre, but that's just one part of his incredible story.Todd also forged lasting friendships with weed icons like Tommy Chong, Woody Harrelson, Bill Maher and Hugh Hefner. We get into all that and much more in this "two-joint" interview.ALSO: Check out Todd's book How to Grow Medical Marijuana and his two documentary films, The Union: The Business Behind Getting High and The Culture HighTodd also operates the Authentic Genetics Seed CompanyEPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 90+ 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

Nov 1, 2023 • 57min
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 focused on art, poetry, jazz and “kicks.”The small circle of young writers at the core of this lit-erary movement—Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Neal Cassady—were all heavily influenced by the improvisation, illumination. and imagination they found in cannabis. Among their most acclaimed and lasting works are Kerouac’s generation-defining novel On the Road and Ginsberg’s epic poem Howl.On this episode, Martin Torgoff—author of Bop Apocalypse: Jazz, Race, the Beats and Drugs—explains just how central cannabis was as a creative tool for the Beats as they sought to bust through the conventions of both literature and society. And how along the way, they founded LeMar, America's first cannabis legalization organization.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 90+ 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

Oct 18, 2023 • 56min
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 years since, "Jorge Cervantes" has traveled the world writing articles, shooting videos, meeting with growers, sampling harvests, and generously sharing his weed wisdom. In this episode, Jorge recalls his incredible life story, from seed to flower.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 90+ 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

Oct 4, 2023 • 40min
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 decades. Including as an editor of Jack Herer's groundbreaking book about hemp—The Emperor Wears No Clothes, as the deputy director of California NORML and as author of Tokin' Women: A 4,000 Year Herstory. In a special live episode taped at this year's Meadowlands conference, Ellen shares the modern history of weed as seen through her own eyes. LEGALIZATION NATIONCheck out the Kickstarter for Box Brown's comic journalism book about the dirty deeds of corporate weed. EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 90+ 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

Sep 20, 2023 • 47min
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 America's most legendary cannabis cultivation region, comedian Billy Wayne Davis—our guest this week—said "hell no."On October 1st, Great Moments in Weed History will join Billy Wayne plus Mike Glazer from Weed + Grub, Frank Castillo from Peak'd and Henry Zebrowski from Last Podcast on the Left for a benefit show at the Mateel Center in Southern Humboldt to help vote down this eradication initiative known as Measure A.In addition to traveling all over the country to make people laugh, Billy Wayne is also the host of the excellent podcast Grown Local on which he interviews all sorts of weed people—with a particular focus on small-scale craft growers.In this episode, we dig into a few of Billy Wayne’s personal greatest weed moments, from his cannabis origin story to a life-lesson he got firsthand from stand-up legend Ralphie May.STOP MEASURE A IN HUMBOLDTCheck out this website for more information on how Measure A would devastate craft farmers in Humboldt County and how you can help through grassroots political action or sending a donation.EPISODE ARCHIVEVisit our podcast feed for 90+ 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


