Chuck Shute Podcast

Tommy Chong (Cheech & Chong)

June 11, 2022 Tommy Chong Season 4 Episode 252
Chuck Shute Podcast
Tommy Chong (Cheech & Chong)
Show Notes Transcript

Tommy Chong is an actor, comedian, musician, activist and pothead.  He is best known for being half of the epic comedy duo Cheech & Chong. He also played the character Leo on That 70s Show and the upcoming spinoff That 90s Show.  In this episode we discuss his cannabis products, the Jason Vorhees Meets Cheech & Chong project, the opioid epidemic, religion and more! 

0:00:00 - Intro
0:01:06 - Nature's Medicine & Products 
0:04:43 - Jordan Belfort - Wolf of Wall Street 
0:07:35 - Legal Issue & Arrest 
0:13:55 - Opiates, Fentanyl & Making Mistakes 
0:19:55 - Cleaning Up 
0:21:35 - Having Fun with Cheech 
0:23:58 - Chong's Heritage 
0:26:28 - That 70s Show Reboot 
0:31:25 - Improvisational Writing 
0:34:45 - Still Smokin' Improv Act 
0:36:55 - Hank Williams Jr & Country Music 
0:39:27 - Smoking with Snoop Dogg  
0:42:40 - Cancel Culture & Racism  
0:46:15 - Religion & Philosophy 
0:53:11 - Wars, Oil & Hemp 
0:56:45 - Growing Weed & Brands 
0:57:33 - Fun Cheech & Chong Projects 
0:59:50 - Moses the Warrior 
1:00:53 - Charity, Movie Company & Theme Park 
1:04:19 - Gun Problem, Free Will & Spiritual World 
1:09:03 - Outro 

Tommy Chong website:
https://tommychongshemp.com

A Place Called Home website:
https://apch.org/who-we-are/

Chuck Shute website:
http://chuckshute.com

Support the show

Thanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!

Chuck Shute:

Hey guys coming up we have the man the legend Tommy Chang is coming right up, we're going to talk about his new cannabis products, some of his classic comedy stuff projects that didn't happen. Philosophy being cellmates with The Wolf of Wall Street Jordan Belfort in prison so much more. And real quick, if you could, please make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel or wherever you're listening or watching this podcast. And this interview is a lot of fun and it might go a little bit off the rails towards the end. But remember, if you ever want to skip ahead, I have the episode chapters in the show notes. And finally, I have to point out that while weed and CBD products are illegal here in Arizona, they may not be in your area. So make sure to check with your local laws and always consult with a doctor before trying any new drugs or medical products. Okay, I'll shut up now. Tommy Chong coming right up well, I got like 10 or 50 of these that is the funniest picture profile picture anyone's ever had. I love it. Oh, good.

Tommy Chong:

Good. It's it. Is a that's my daily use at one time. One time. Yeah. Nothing more,

Chuck Shute:

though. Not anymore. Have you slowed things down a little bit?

Tommy Chong:

Well, never. Actually. No, actually, I've sped them up while they spoke to a stop when I was in jail, right, right. So no, I'm kind of because I do a lot of cameos. So I get a letter request and I can't turn no to request to get all right. You know, it's it's, it's not in my DNA.

Chuck Shute:

Really. Okay. That's good to know. Well, so tell us about the new products that you have, I think because you have that you already have the the Tommy Chong stuff, right? Yeah, yeah. Now you have the Cheech and Chong. That's a newer software. Yeah,

Tommy Chong:

well, it's hybrid. The Cheech and Chong, you know, we've got the best two cheats and best to charm. And we put them into a package and it's everything, you know, we got different strains. And we got a Labrador stream we got after our wonderful movies. Yeah. You know, what we did? We just hooked up with the best of the best, you know, the best growers the best stores, you know, the best. Like, we're in Arizona now with a group called nature's medicine.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, that's where I had I went to three stores to find your stuff. And that's where I had to go. I'm in Arizona actually. So

Tommy Chong:

love that store. Nature's medicine. Great name.

Chuck Shute:

That's great. I'm fine. I told him I give him a shout out for you. So

Tommy Chong:

Oh, good. Yeah. No, they were the best and we hung with him for a bunch of days. You know? That was fun. So my take is really increased somewhat dramatically. You know?

Chuck Shute:

Do you do the joints? Do you do a bond? You do CBD edibles? All the above? What do you

Tommy Chong:

uh, no, no, I'm a joint. I like it. I make these little joint holders. Oh, and you spoke to their little their NFT said this one's about a billion dollars or so. worth a billion dollars.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, that's what I heard you talking about that. It's like you're gonna have these million a million dollar bomb.

Tommy Chong:

Because billion dollar billion dollar billion dollar?

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. Because some rich guy will buy it.

Tommy Chong:

Oh, well, Toby, Toby, and I'm hanging out with a lot of the rich guys, you know, and there's a lot of things evil but but if it's a collectible, if it increases in price, see that's it's not a buy then it's an investment. Because there it's a piece of art. That's what that's it. It's funny because I went to jail for selling art. Really? Because art glass. Yeah. But it's art glass because people that I know of that have Tommy Chong Bong, you know, from the day, they don't smoke it. It's in a display protected and they smoke out of bamboo pipes.

Chuck Shute:

No, that's smart. So yeah, tell me about when you were in jail because your your cellmate was Jordan Belfort who of course is the Wolf of Wall Street. And that's I can't picture more odd couple of you got this free loving hippie pot smoking in the water The Wolf of Wall Street. I mean, it's crazy.

Tommy Chong:

It was a wolf. Well, it wasn't the wolf until he met me Uh, we know he's a cool guy is very cool guy very athletic. He's a very athletic guy. And, and was, he's got the personality of a six foot four, guy, it should be a six foot four like quarterback, that's his personality. And no one had met him, you know, he's, he's so intelligent, I've never met. I've met a few geniuses. And he is he's a genius. And he's one of those geniuses that that can get out of their own way. You know? They haven't figured out why he likes excitement, I guess, of doing what he's doing. Because he could, you know, Bill Gates, any of those guys, no, no problem. You know, he's got that. He's got those smarts. But he's a good salesman, and any great guy. We have, we had a lot of fun, incarcerated together. You know, I had other friends that really weren't that thrilled was was Jordan. Yeah. So George, because it was the nature of what he did. Yeah. Who he's with, you know,

Chuck Shute:

carry on that. Why did he is just for the excitement because it was like, dangerous and illegal. And because he screwed you over though he screwed people out.

Tommy Chong:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Because they wanted to be screwed over. You know, he's like, a head of a church.

Chuck Shute:

They come give me all the money and you'll go to heaven. And, yes, yes.

Tommy Chong:

That's what most churches do, you know, and their constituents, they're there because they want to hear that, you know, they want the easiest way. And, and Jordan, and those guys, you know, they take advantage of people's weaknesses, you know, because that's what it does. It's like a gambling addiction. You know, I, you know, I got a little taste of it. You know, I mean, I've been sort of like, self analyzing how I feel, especially when I was in jail, you know, because I'm wanting to record and remember all the emotions, because that's what we're here. I found out, you know, we're here on earth to learn and to learn from our mistakes. You see, and, and that what I did was a mistake on the government's part, but definitely a mistake on my part in if I didn't want to get caught, you know what I'm saying? Because I wasn't doing anything illegal, per se. But there was a law in the books that said, you know, it's illegal to sell paraphernalia, drug paraphernalia. Now that I don't think that law, even if it exists, he probably don't. You know, they know it's a another law. jaywalking law that gets ignored, for the most

Chuck Shute:

part wasn't a kind of like an entrapment thing, because I watched the movie, explained it, how it's illegal for them to, for you guys to sell the paraphernalia to Pennsylvania and another state. And they call from Pennsylvania and said, Can you deliver it to Pennsylvania? And I think, was it your son or somebody that worked at the family business said, No, we can't, we can't. And they said, we'll just buy, you know, get it and we'll come pick it up. And it was sitting there for eight months. And finally, they just kept pushing it like you're fine. Like we look, we got to get rid of this. It's taking up space in our warehouse. And so then you finally ship it, and then they bust you. And it's like, how's that on a traveling? I don't get it?

Tommy Chong:

Well, it is it had a one or two to beat the case, I would probably win on appeal. Because it was entrapment. But we made a deal with the government, that if I, if I didn't plead guilty, they would go after my son and my wife, my wife and my son who was really in more Jeopardy than I was because my my wife got my son into the bond business. And she actually signed the check that started the company, and so on. And it was my son that actually got the business going. And and Feds knew this because they had wiretapped us and in 10 years, the Feds did a little sidenote, they send a guy in to see how much how many billions of dollars were making with a bunk company, because it was Bush's trip at that time to say that billions of dollars are being made and in the illegal drug trade and being funneled to the to the Taliban. You know, that was that was the lies you see. Okay. That was that was the reason that they went in and, you know, the politics Shouldn't they they thought they were doing something noble, you know. And so, when I, when they saw when they finally got around, it was almost like a comedy of errors arresting me, you know, because I wasn't. I wasn't, you know, I was living my life. I'm in the same house now that I was when they busted me. And when the SWAT team came to my door, I said, they look like Halloween trick or treaters. Kids are wheeling around with their outfit. You know, they're cute outfits. And they're all dressed up perfectly. But that was funny. But I paid you know, I kind of paid. I knew I knew what I was doing. You know, I knew that. This is my chance. So I can either show everybody when sniffling coward, I was started begging for mercy. Or I could say, Okay, let's go to jail. You know, let's do that. Let's see how that turns out. And yeah, and it turned out well,

Chuck Shute:

yeah, it turned out because now weed is legal in a lot of Arizona and California or a tons of states, Washington, Colorado. And it's probably going to be eventually legalized in every state, I would assume.

Tommy Chong:

Yeah. legalized? Yeah. The reason they don't is, is because we signed a lot of drug treaties with countries around the world, thanks to Nancy Reagan's war on drugs. And as a result, United States pays help these countries not to grow weed. And as a result, they get the money and then they grow. They can pull out they go to crops, they grow one crop to eradicate, or at least they said, Yeah, right. Okay. And then another crop to use, and, and then they get the million or whatever it is from the government. And so there's a lot of, you know, that's like a welfare check coming every year, for years, over 50 years. And that's what they have to change, you know, and stop, or just change to the added, yeah, give them the money, but give them another reason, you know, yeah. Yeah. So

Chuck Shute:

the

Tommy Chong:

problem is that the banking system, you know, once we start, once we're able to bank our, our money in banks and use credit cards in that, then the business will really explode, you know, down, because right now, we're at sort of at a disadvantage, in some ways, although the nature's medicine, they found their own banks, you know, they found some banks of their own. So, and that's what the big guys are doing, you know, in the business, you know, so that's not a problem. And so actually, for the marijuana business itself, I think, you know, the trouble is with with the that we're finding out with legalization, is that the greedy governments are trying to cash in on what they consider like, a sin tax, you know, like they do with cigarettes and booze. Yeah. And the trouble is, we prove it in by boats, that it's a medicine, and it should not be taxed at all. And that's why they changed the thing. Okay, now you can sell recreational and all they're doing is just the oh, now we can tax you more for for for the rest of the world, you know, other than the real sick people. And by the way, we don't, it's either recreation or medicine. They don't recognize the government doesn't recognize many. For the most part, they don't recognize the medical aspect of we yet, you know, money wise.

Chuck Shute:

That's because I saw something you guys say that the chief had like a knee surgery and he put CBD oil instead of using the opiates, which are super dangerous. He is just oil.

Tommy Chong:

Yeah. Well ingested as well as used. Yeah, yeah. Well, it seemed to me when I had my cancer operation. I was on the glory drugs for a day while I was in the hospital. Okay. Oh, I enjoyed every bit of

Chuck Shute:

what they give you like morphine or something.

Tommy Chong:

I don't know. Well, it got me. But it's the same thing. It's it's synthetic. Morphine. Yeah, that's all that's all it is heroin. It's heroin. It's very shit. Yeah. And it's really addictive because you can get it over the counter. I was in jail was maybe five pharmacists that were in jail because they were selling oxycontin to the public, and got caught. Real illegal pharmaceutical, huge, huge, huge multi billion dollar business,

Chuck Shute:

what do you think the solution is there because we have that problem here. I'm actually had a guy on my podcast that interviews kids on the street and they're all addicted to this fentanyl. They they call it they smoke these blues pills or something. It's terrible stuff. How do you what do you

Tommy Chong:

do? Well, you got to remember, we live in a very physical society. And, and we only learn from our mistakes. And so the people that are addicted to opioids, they're making a big mistake, but they're also learning a big lesson. And there's a lot of people not a lot, but there are some people that have, you know, beat the addiction, and been sober and it takes a lot of work, a lot of willpower and everything else. You can't escape it. You know? You ever watch Ninja Warriors? No. Oh, you haven't seen the Ninja Warriors? No, it's

Chuck Shute:

like on NBC or whatever, where they have like the kind of like a sport almost.

Tommy Chong:

Yeah, it is a sport. Yeah, it's a sport and you got to climb, climb up this and if you miss one step, you fall in the water, right? You make a mistake, you get knocked off, you fall in the water? Well, that's what life is all about. We're in a ninjam sport right now called life. And if you look at the people that get addicted, to fentanyl, and that, you know, they come from all walks of life, and, and for most, the most part, a comfortable life, you know, because one thing that property will give you is the, the the go to the web, what really works. And what like the slaves and in the poor people of the planet learned, you know, that if you go to God, however, that, that knowledge will get you through, you know, and on the other hand, if you use God to make other people, you know, make other hurt other people financially, then you're, you're doing it wrong. But the most, for the most part, when you're too poor to afford the habits, that can be a good thing. And so that's why the opioid addiction was like middle class in there, you know? And that's what it is today.

Chuck Shute:

With those phenols Oh, they're so cheap. They're like five bucks or something. Yeah. And it's just, it's their terrible thing. Like, it just worries me. I agree that some people could make those mistakes, get sober. And then they learned a lesson. But some people are dying, because like they do it one time, and they don't know how much is in there. And it's like, I wish we could just educate people about that. How terrible because nobody ever ODS on weed. Like, that's pretty rare. No,

Tommy Chong:

no, no. And you look at that, so that, therefore that cannot be the joint drug of choice. Because for a lot of people, especially in the drug world, they're out to destroy themselves, you know, on purpose or for the experience, who knows? You know, so, and like I said, we'll see excellent people, or people that don't have, you know, extreme property issues. You know, because you can't afford the bad habits. So if you're that boring, broke, and that's what happened. You know, in, in the physical world, we live in this, what I've been telling people is that we're here to make mistakes, and to learn from the mistakes. And that's why when people are recovering, I do a lot of cameos, and I did a couple today where I'm congratulating people on search, under sobriety, being able to stay up boosts or for a length of time, you know, that's, that's a tough thing. You know, alcoholic, alcoholism is a very, very, very tough one to be like quitting smoking, if you've been smoking all your life, and, you know, all those addictions in that. It's very tough. And when people do, you know, they pass they pass the test, and they're back in learning. Yeah, I understand. You know, I have empathy for people that, you know, that hurt themselves, for no apparent reason other than the experience. But I also understand, and that's how you that's what old people were an old guys learn, you know, is that it's all going to happen. You know, there's not a lot. The only thing you can really do to change anybody in this planet really is, is to change yourself. That's what I found out.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, it's like that old saying, if you want to change the world, start by making your bed like, you know, clean up your own stuff. That sounds like a marine saying or sign on if you haven't heard that before?

Tommy Chong:

No, you want to change the world? Start by making your bed. Yeah, that's, that's like, I like that. And I spoke, you know, because I was reminiscing about my jail time. And that's the first thing they teach you in prison. That's the first thing they see. When you wake up, make your bed. That's the first thing you do make your bed clean, clean yourself, then then get dressed and then do your business. Okay? But make that bed.

Chuck Shute:

So how, because you have to work in prison to write you had to clean up the gym equipment or something like that is that that's only how many hours a day though.

Tommy Chong:

I didn't have to, I could have opted out. I could have used the old bank cards. You know, I don't feel like working. But because I wanted to work. They gave me the easiest job which was sweeping. So so and so I was a sweeper, you know, just picking up cigarette butts in certain areas. You know, that was my area to sweep up and I enjoyed it. I still to this day. That's what I do around the house. And I also did, I also did the dishes, and I also make my bed once in a while. Not all the time.

Chuck Shute:

Well, so much entertainment. I mean, I think that's your purpose here on Earth is to make entertainment for people like we just watched it up and smoke again for the millionth time last night. The scene where Cheech takes the acid. That's got to be one of the funniest things in any movie ever. Was that totally made up? Or is that inspired by a real life incident?

Tommy Chong:

Well, we we used to do nightclub. Yeah. And we're improv actors. And so I would my job really was to torture teach. And, and so when we got into that, oh, we had we had so much fun with those characters. Because the literal Chicano he meant he could do anything. Yeah. But I would hold them to it. We, it was such a perfect marriage between every everything worked out. Well, you know, again, history

Chuck Shute:

between you two. Was that something that was an instant or that take time to develop?

Tommy Chong:

Well, it depends. It was. It was pretty instant. When I met Cheech, he was in Vancouver dodging the draft, right. And so so so we didn't know what he was. He wasn't saying he was Mexican. Back. We never found out he was Mexican until we got down to LA. We had no idea where he was and he wouldn't tell anybody. A lot of us thought he was like, it could have been from India. It could have been from Iraq. You know, it could have been anything, you know, NATO. Because when you snuck up to Calgary to get out of the war, he went right into where I grew up, which is mostly native country. We're surrounded by reservations. And then when custard did his dirty work in the States, all the Seuss, Blackfoot a whole tribes went up to Canada and read to Calgary right where I grew up. Wow. Yeah. And so I so teach when he he found out very quickly that hey, Jeep I've been you know, they thought he was a native.

Chuck Shute:

That's funny. Didn't you find out you're like 10% or 20% native yourself?

Tommy Chong:

And yeah, 90% Yeah. 100% Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I found out that was when it was such a revelation. Because my mother was she was a talker, and she would tell us all these stories, but she never ever told us it's real secret, which was that her mother was half NATO. Never never told us that when you got up, wait up to the edge, but never, never really said. Oh, by the way, your and Mike and we never knew my grandmother's name. Until we did the DNA test. And my grandmother's name is Jemima. Isn't that sweet? Wow. Like the syrup. The end the pancake? Aunt Jemima? That's what that's what her name was. And she was she was half a jib way I believe and. And half Irish. Yeah, her dad her dad was adult. Okay, because her her name was Dylan But she was a half half Native. Grandma never met her. She committed suicide when my brother was like seven, eight years old, I think. Oh, wow. Yeah, my mother had was put into a booty call it resident pastor home domestic No, she became a domestic servant. Oh, weird. Yeah, she she went to work and she never got she got fired she got was a great three but she learned how to read it she learned how to write somebody someone I got letters from looks like a great for new great one.

Chuck Shute:

It's just because he wasn't taught at though she probably had the skills because you have the skills so you must Oh, yeah. Yeah, he must have gotten some of that from her or your dad.

Tommy Chong:

Oh, I got all the out from books from from both the writing and the everything. No, no, my I was I've always been blessed. There's been something really creepy. It was really nice and kind of weird to book my life. Even to this right to this day. I get messages and the and I have a job your you know, to help humanity.

Chuck Shute:

cameos and stuff. And what else in the weed? What do you got so many things going on? Are you are you doing? Are you doing that 90 show is that happened? spin off of that 70 show?

Tommy Chong:

Yeah, we sure.

Chuck Shute:

What's the what's the plot? Can you talk about it?

Tommy Chong:

It's basically it's the kitty and Red's grandkids. Okay, it's the grandkids have all all their other kids. You know, like? Yeah, all the daughters. You know, Eric, I guess Harry, Eric's wife and kid and they're mixed in. They're all beautiful in their home. Oh, that is so interesting. And they're all excited about working. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I did a bit with kitty. Yeah. Which is kitty kitty and i It's funny how kitty and I ended up almost being the pair. Because she never liked me when she first when I first joined the show. Oh, really? Yeah. She thought I was that character. You know that. She thought I was channeling in Cheech and Chong, you know? Yeah.

Chuck Shute:

That's a character so but did you did you ever smoke weed with the cast or any of that? Because they always had those circles where they'd smoke weed. But did you actually hear us do that off screen to

Tommy Chong:

ever happen? Really? No. Never happened. I do a bit in my stand up back where I show everybody refuses a joint for me. Except the cameraman, the cameras a day, Ben, welcome to the show. No, none of them. And we didn't hobnob with them either. You know, we didn't associate with they were the they were separate. The kids were all separate. They got paid higher. You know, they were stars of the show. Sure. And they were treated like that. And the rest of us were the supporting cast.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, is Mila Kunis. She is beautiful in person as she is on TV.

Tommy Chong:

Probably more so. She is she's one of the sweetest. I met her. When I met her. She's like 14 Somebody that she learned how to drive a car in on the on the lot. Yeah, we had a little moment. We had a few moments really night. She had a boyfriend or that home alone. Let's call him Macaulay Culkin. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, she was. She dated him for a minute and, and he just wanted to meet me. That's how it was. That was one thing, a moment that I had would be like, his military says, Oh, my boyfriend wants to meet you so bad. No, he's calling McLachlin. So I met him. And that was really the only time I really had a moment with Mueller.

Chuck Shute:

Did you with Macaulay Culkin?

Tommy Chong:

I probably could have. But no, no, no, I they, they were kind of, you know, the whole. Everybody's a little nervous. You know, because we're being watched by was it Fox and Warner Brothers. I forget one of them. Whoever on the show where they're watching this pretty close. And the writers always had a bar, you know, bargain for how much weed smoke they could blow out of the day. You know, it was kind of kind of June. And the last thing they wanted from me was any mention of Cheech and Chong, you know, so that's why Wilmer and I never had a scene together. And I was like, Going forward to that, because Oh, I miss my Mexican.

Chuck Shute:

Oh, yeah. Oh, they never had a scene with you and Wilmer. I never know. Not even. Yeah. Funny on that show.

Tommy Chong:

Yeah, well, Renee could have. We could have done the same. But I think it was too close to the Cheech and Chong. Of course, it was and then yeah, I love the way they wrote the my character, you know, you never knew these guys. You know, it was very nice. I learned a lot from that show. In fact, I used to use it like a school, you know, because I had small, small parts, and my parts were so easy. So I could go sit and watch him work with the actors, you know, watch the gym trainer, the director work with, with all the kids, you know, because they go in acting school, you know, and it was great. It was great. And television, watched how their cameras worked. And, you know, and how they the order they would do it, you know, it's really an art, you know, don't know stand up shows really an art because they get they get those shows diamond, like in a week, you know, boom, rehearsal setup, cameras, everything boom, woman, it's a well oiled machine and, and you got to read the writing. So precise. It has to be there. And that's why I was amazed you know, because, you know, I've done a couple of movies by then but that was all improv and propositional. I never learned how to really read music basically, your read a script, do it like that. I kind of know now but you know, I'm still new propositional whatever I am, whatever I tried to do.

Chuck Shute:

So like when as you write the scripts do you write just like you write kind of a loose script? You don't write the actual like word for word dialogue.

Tommy Chong:

It sometimes sometimes but for the most part, no, I we hired good actors in up in smoke. Everybody wrote their own bit my father and brother Martin he wrote that all you get a job by saying that he wrote every light and I Stacy Heetch Yeah. The cop Yeah. He you know it was it was a you know, what kind of beat the Catholic priests have on Sunday. No

Chuck Shute:

that's That's so great.

Tommy Chong:

Though. They wrote they wrote all jadis the girl she she wrote her. I know I'd written a whole part for for JD just because you know, teaching with the records in that we we had a good feel for that kind of stoner dialogue. But it was four pages and in Jade looked at it and said that too much to memorize. So she just adds a chemo the better way is that the Ajax seen? No, that was JDS was the one of the girls. Okay, that we picked up your chicken.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, because the one we're the girls snorting Ajax or whatever. That was such a funny scene till I was like, wow, that girl really went crazy with this. Like, it was great.

Tommy Chong:

He wrote every bit of that. That was June Fairchild. She, she was a friend of she was a girlfriend at Danny. Three Dog Night singer. Oh, and we met her at a party and she used to entertain us at the parties with with her craziness like that. She could make all these sounds. She's a fine actor. She was in a movie with with rockets. Because 1010 Ingo 10, little kid little to little something. Anyway, she was a really fine actress, but so funny at parties and yeah. So that's the kind of writing I would do. I'd remember stuff like that, that have come in, you know, and then do it, do it on on the screen. That's why we shot the movie so fast. And it was so quick because there was no rehearsals needed. It was just just performances. We just recorded line performance after another. And, and we hit all the notes, especially with that movie.

Chuck Shute:

Oh, yeah. First of all, I thought was still smoking and that one still it's so so great to say.

Tommy Chong:

That was our act that we couldn't, that we had to quit doing because we'd done movies and I realized we got all this good material that we had news. And so we put it in the still smoking. Still smoker was supposed to be a cartoon movie, like Eddie Murphy. If you just don't, yeah, and it's a pair of$100 million to do a concert movie, but instead of because your movie I said, Let's do a real movie, because I was planning on doing a Cheech and Chong Film Festival in Amsterdam. I had posters drawn up and everything. And then we had that offer from Parramatta to do a concert film. And then I said, Well, let's do a real film. And then that was we wrote that one on the way, you know, we come up with a premise and then as we progress, we would you know, right bit, one bit after another bit like our live show. Yeah. Yeah, it was fun. And there's a lot of laughs still spoken. And, you know, it was the first time anybody had us. Prince's music in a movie.

Chuck Shute:

Ah, yeah, cuz Prince is a genius. Did you ever hang out with him or

Tommy Chong:

liberally? No, it was him. But I was in a club one time he was I saw he was he was so tiny and you're afraid to step out. But we use delirious in that movie, and still smoking. Cheech. nicey Cheech was kind of like the keeper of the music. He was always up to date on whatever music was being played. And at the time, Prince was coming on, pretty strong. And so when Cheech said Brits I said, Okay, so we used to his music. We got it for a nice price, you know?

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. Well, you said that you can't turn it down if people ask you to. So I'm gonna Is it okay, if I took I want to try out this Cheech and Chong joint is over. Yeah.

Tommy Chong:

Yeah, for sure. And then,

Chuck Shute:

can you tell me about some of the people that you've smoked weed with? Have you smoked weed with all the biggest pot smokers like Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen and Willie Nelson? I assume? Yes, but I don't

Tommy Chong:

I don't remember smoking with Willie I was I remember being at a place with Willie I was in all my crazy prints are coming over tonight. And I I was really thrilled because I met Willie and, and all you know, George Jones and all Waylon Jennings met all those guys. I don't think I spoke with they had a party over pink Williams juniors house after and I made the net wasn't a mistake. But when I grew up in Calgary, I got into rhythm of blues because of a football player named Tommy Melton that was a friend friend of my brothers who was also football player. To Tommy, I got turned on to rhythm blues. And then Tommy and I started a room of blues band, and then he became little daddy. And we had a group called Little dad in the bachelors. And But Tommy was a big country fan. And so when I found out that I was going to go to this party with all the greats, I invited Tommy because Tommy was living in Nashville at the time, he was actually trying to make it as a songwriter, in Nashville for a country. And the company was had it was a great football player, but his voice was a little thin. You know, he wasn't a trained singer. He can sing, but but he could have spent more time singing and then he was playing football. But anyway, it took me to the party, and found out eventually that Hank Williams Jr. did not appreciate a black man being at his party.

Chuck Shute:

Oh, really? Yeah, those times I was like, no different.

Tommy Chong:

Well, yes. And no, it's country. Country, you know, and so country is, you know, historic. You know, they got Charlie pride, but they still cut their, their, their, their country ways, you know, Southern ways. You can't get around that.

Chuck Shute:

What about, what about Snoop Dogg though? You've got smoked weed with

Tommy Chong:

him with smoke, I suppose dealt with Snoop a couple of times. A couple of times. It's kind of weird, because he, you know, when, back in the day, you know, when I was thinking about the jazz and the black crowd, you know, a lot, you know, especially when we're Motown. every once awhile you get into the Smoke sessions with the Snoop Dogg's. And the thing is, they're essentially lead singers and such powerful entities that they don't understand the cause. Step Two handing the joint back. The joint stays there. Yeah. Okay. Then you look around and look for another joint that's coming your way. But yeah, you know, and I've done a I did a movie with Snoop and Dr. Dre, but Dr. Dre, Dr. Dre day him and I never really hit it off. Because I guess, on my part, you know, because like I said, I grew up in Calgary. And I have a lot of Trumpy friends. Not not from choice, but just from cultural. You know, because I grew up like, like a Trumpy, you know, in a very racist city called Calgary. It was very racist. And so there's a lot of racism habits that the guys like me have and you don't realize it until somebody points it out to you. Like I used it. I used to do a bit called Blind melon chin. And when you look at it now, I can't do it. Sure, I was thinking I was thinking of retiring the bit before the pandemic, because I did I did a bit like Herbie Hancock, the great jazz pianist, you know, he was a big fan of Cheech and Chong. And he's, you know, he's a black jazz musician. So, he would come to see Cheech and Chong and, and Herbie told me one time he says, you can play here you he plays a guitar band, and then and then, then you start doing that other shift. And I realized what he was saying, you know, because I worked blind mountain children up to the fact where, because cheese I used to do him, just as one little quick bit, you know, are the guys to joke to find his harmonica and he finally does. It's just, it used to be one of our biggest slap in our show. And then when teaching I split up, I started doing blind by myself, because I love the black world. You know, I grew up in. But I'm not black. In when you're playing a black guy. It's touchy. Yeah.

Chuck Shute:

There's got to be some good things about where society's gone without but then sometimes they go too far with the cancel culture, or they're, they're digging up old stuff from I mean, that seems a little bit silly, don't you think?

Tommy Chong:

Well, it goes back and forth. It's all about eager to see what they don't like. And that's what Dave Chappelle signed up to. I'm not alone. Chappelle was had the same problem. That's why I quit. Yeah, so long, you know, because, because he was doing those kind of funny things that you could do. Because you're hip enough to do them. But then also you run into a new breed of people that they don't see the joke. You know, they just they just see the insult. And so you got to you got to change. You can't go down that road anymore. You know, if you watch the Martin rose in a watch it all in the family, all the family was wow, it was right out there. You know, they're very blatant about RGB and a Trumpy, you know?

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, before it was even a Trumpy. Yeah, it's like a differently. Yeah,

Tommy Chong:

yeah. No, that's the whole thing. That's, that's, that's why Trump is is so powerful, because he represents a whole lot of angry people, you know, ignorant to the fact where they're fearful. You know, and that's when it gets hairy. You know, when people get afraid of you. I've been on spots, you know, with my buddy Tommy Milton. One time our car broke down, north of Edmonton, north of Calgary, in a place called OLS. Alberta will say Alberta was the home of this not not a Holocaust denier, that boy that wrote books about the Holocaust was fake and all that. And that's his home. And one time our car broke down, and Tom and I were walking into the, into the little town and this lady walking toward us, and she literally, when she saw when she got close enough to see who we were, she literally dropped her groceries and ran off screaming. I mean, this was not fake and Tommy and I looked at each other and we saw poolroom so he said we better get up the street. You know, they'll take, we're robbing this lady or so. And we went into this pool room, and it was really dark, and you couldn't see any makeout at faces. And then as, as we got used to the light, that we walked into light, it looked like a red neck. Bar, you know, there's all these white guys down there with a poucos given us that look, you know, but it was just because there's no black people in that area, period. There's no and, and we walk in there, you know? What's our business? What's What are we up to?

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, people just get exposed to other cultures, then it's usually fine. And it's they, they don't they're scared. It's like you said, they're, they're scared. And they're ignorant, because they don't, they don't know. So they just see things on the news or whatever, that are negative. And they you meet other cultures. I mean, all people from all over the world or, you know, a lot of have the same core values try to be good people try to help people having a good heart. I think I don't know.

Tommy Chong:

The only No, well, yeah, I mean, that's the whole point. And that's when you when you look at the religious books, you know, they all say the same thing. The Koran I was I was watching a show called Doctor, you know, where they examine everybody's different gods and the showing this Qur'an, Muslim, anything in there asking them, you know, the scholars asking the Muslim, why do you hate the Jews and the Gentiles? You know, it's because they're going against their teaching of the Koran. And so the Koran experts as well show me the passage where it says that, and so the guy, it took them quite a while, but he found it. And so the guidance, so the scholar read, what he found, and he finally note that the guy was omitting the first part. And the first part says that if you yourself, the reader of the Quran, if you are a non believer, then all these bad things will happen to you, if you yourself are unbeliever, the current and so what they did they misinterpreted to say, anybody that's an anomaly. See, and it's not that at all, that those holy books are written to you personally. The Bible is written to you the Jewish book is written right to the person themselves. Buddhism is about the singular person. And all these religions, there's not a religion on earth, that tells you that other people should die because your belief be it doesn't make sense. You know, why would you kill someone that that believes that there is only one God? You know, okay, you

Chuck Shute:

have a philosophy that you really look up to, in addition to that, because you've read all the religious books, obviously.

Tommy Chong:

Well, I look up to there's a couple of books, Emmett Fox, is, it's funny, too, because Emmett Fox and Joel Goldsmith, they're both Jews. And they both are expert on Christianity, really. But when you think about it, do Jesus was a Jew? When you think about you think about it. Millions and billions of people have been worshipping a Jew, made into a graven image. Right? You know, and even there's some images of him was the king of Jews at the top of the cross. So so when you think of the Christianity is based on the teachings of a Jew, that was executed, right for, for being a prophet for being a healer, you know, and they said he was gonna use the Rab medical rebel or something, but the truth is, and this what you learn, and this is what I learned, you know, there is only you and me, you know, we are there is no, Tommy Chong, ever. anywhere in the universe, just me is one. And whether Tommy Charlie was my name, probably not. You know, I've had different names over the years, as I come back in different forms. But there's only me and there's only you. And if we can understand that, if you look at the lawn, grass, think about think about a blade of grass and how many blades of grass Do you think there are on this earth? Countable

Chuck Shute:

infinity, but yet,

Tommy Chong:

each lon consists of zillions of the is little blades of grass, that that are a life in itself, you can take that grass out, it's not going to affect the other grass. Because we and that's what we are. We are like a blade of grass. And Jesus taught that many times about who we are. And how if we just think, think of God this put our mind angle, that's what Scripture says. He will perfect that which concerns you. And that's why the rappers you know, when they get their trophies or whatever they they thank you sports guys, you know, thank you. Yeah, they're looking up their

Chuck Shute:

gratitude is an amazing thing. It's a key to happiness. I think being Granby

Tommy Chong:

being grateful and acknowledging the fact that you didn't do this yourself. You had, you had a higher power, take you to where you're at. And I've always known that, from when I was a young boy. Because I, the only entertainment we have when I was a kid was Sunday school, was the only reason to get dressed up. Right. And, and I did, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I had no problem with it, my brother was, you know, if it interrupted any kind of sport out sporting thing, and that you find a reason not to go. But I always I always love Sunday school, because it's gentle. And then I learned the power of prayer. Many, many, many years ago, I say this a lot to people because it can, you know, when these kids were getting shot, with all the gun violence going on, and then people were saying we're sick to hear your thoughts and prayers, you know, don't send us your thoughts and prayers. You know, that's kind of a silly thing to say, because that's all we got. Yeah, we don't, we don't have anything else. We don't have a law. We don't have a magic. solution to this gun violence. There are solutions. And I stumbled on it a few. But, but that's our purpose here. This is why we're here. I'm here. Because I can make people laugh and listen. Yeah. And that's what I intend to do. You see, there's been talk you know, the shutdown Oh, man stopped everything, you know, started. We started everything

Chuck Shute:

restarted.

Tommy Chong:

No, we that's, that's how everything, everything we had to stop. What is the think about this man? The reason putting went to war was because oil prices were disappearing. Because people weren't traveling. They weren't needing though. They didn't need all that gas. Right. And there were no wars. Yeah. And so as a result, no one needed oil. Gas the way they were getting it, because you weren't going anywhere. No. was no oil revenue coming in Saudi Arabia, America. Russia, they started hurting especially Russia start early because that's their only income, you know, right. And they don't they don't have that much reserves. So next thing you know, we're at war with the Ukraine. And oil prices. Right, Jack great up, and now, gasoline prices are high as ever been. And we're going through this again. I've been through this before, you know, in the 80s then you win with Reagan. And same thing, you know, the Saudis wanted to get the oil prices up and and whenever you have a war, or law always be up high, because energy needed, blah, blah, blah. And, and so what what's happening now, is that real thanks to our lockdown and innovations that we don't need oil on the planet, to heat and to run our cars. So we never really needed oil. We went through the oil phase, and we paid the price for, you know, environmental everything. But now we're coming out of that need for oil and we know that we don't need we don't want oil. We want the clean energy. We want the clean power plants and I see the Ukraine being read Built in beautiful fashion where there's going to be new farming techniques introduced and I'm hoping that the Ukraine by that, that time we'll be able to do start growing a hemp because hemp really is the answer to the key to healing the earth. Because if you if you grow hemp and just plow it back into the earth you're gonna have a soil that that you can grow grapes and food and everything else. And so and not only that but you can plow some back but you can shut down that hip and build building materials because of the you know, the lockdown and the oil and transportation you know, the wood is became has become very expensive, you know, the fires are eating up a lot of the forest. So we need help. And, and then for medicine, we need more more CBD and THC because think about it. Everything else got closed down everything the bars got closed down. What were open compassion clubs dispensaries, they never closed. They never closed. We didn't ever close. And even the law enforcement now they're realizing you know that that's where the good medicine can you imagine we'd stop this little girl from having her epileptic fits to the point where she could hug her mother for the first time. Thanks to tour our magic planet.

Chuck Shute:

Now that's great. I'm how I'm enjoying this stuff right now. It's I think it's hitting nice it's an indica blend and so it's just like a real relaxing oh you like you said usually you'll do it all right. You like it?

Tommy Chong:

I like whatever is there you know, I just smoked a blunt I like that. My my son gruesome we got a Tommy Chong grow team that we're going to put on the market eventually. And he grew some killer, but yeah, I'm drying it. I should let it dry out some more. But it's you know, you can't wait. You gotta try to be moist and everything else but so good. Yeah, like, I like all the all the different brands. Yeah, well, you get a different high up each one.

Chuck Shute:

For sure. I gotta ask you this before I let you go. I was looking at this last night on this. I think this is a true story where you guys wants to cheat as Cheech and Chong pitched a sequel to Friday the 13th floor. It was like Cheech and Chong meets Jason, kind of like an Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Tommy Chong:

It was pitched to us. Yeah. Yeah. Someone pitched it. I don't know who did it. But yeah, yeah, there's been a lot of that.

Chuck Shute:

That sounded like such a I was laughing so hard at that idea, but it actually was paid. I mean, didn't happen, but the idea was pitched that's really fascinating.

Tommy Chong:

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, we were supposed to they wanted to. Ivan Reitman wanted Cheech and Chong to do stripes. I saw that too. Yeah. But he brought it too late. By the time you started doing it, we were had already made a deal with with our next movie, chunk next movie, which should have been up in scope, too. But we couldn't get the title because we're in litigation with director. Oh, with Lou Adler. So we we named the teaching chunks next movie, because that's was the working title. Oh, oh, I like I like that.

Chuck Shute:

Is there any other projects or roles that you almost had or that fell through?

Tommy Chong:

Lion King? I turned that one down. chased it, it would be but I turned it down because we're having a little dispute with Disney. Disney was really on this anti hippie saying they wouldn't let people in their park if you had long hair, you know and wore white Peter T shirt. Couldn't get in the park. That disappeared really quickly. But and so I you know when we got awkward, we did Fern belly, and I did for ungodly, but then when they offered Lion King, it was Disney and Cheech cheap, cheap really enjoyed it. And he really enjoyed the fact that I never did it because I missed out on a nice paycheck.

Chuck Shute:

Because those are those royalties every time they show it. It gets. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, last question here. If you could smoke weed with anybody live or dead? Who would it be? I'm saying See, I thought you get asked this question all the time, I thought you'd have your answer ready?

Tommy Chong:

Well, I've got a few that. I'm just thinking right now, I think I'll go with most. Okay, because of all the religious guys, you know, leaders. I like Moses, he got talked about this all the time. And I feel like I am Moses, because Moses was a warrior. You know, he wasn't a prophet, right? warrior. He was a prince, he was raised in royal palace, and he was taught all the skills, you know, so he was well educated do basically, yeah.

Chuck Shute:

All right. That'd be fun. One, um, I always end each episode with a charity. Is there some Is there a charity that you're connected with? Or that you want to promote here? And I can have people send money that way after they buy some of your products, of course.

Tommy Chong:

place called home. Okay, it's, it's a charity in the South Central LA. And it's, I'm going to have a group of those homes eventually. That's That's my charity of choice. And I'm going to have them put throughout throughout the nation. You know, when I, when I, when I get good enough capital and everything I'm had, I'm heading in that direction. Like I showed you some of the NFT carvings that I did, yeah, yeah, these things are going to enable me to finance a movie company. And the movie company is going to be called peace pipe pictures, okay. And I'm going to first of all, stream all the Cheech and Chong products, we're going to be one of my first thing because we don't have our own streaming servers yet. And then that's what it'll be. And then I'm going to start doing movies like migration, which will be a 2030 year project, where we hire, I want to hire the marchers that came down from Guatemala and bring them into the country as actors for a piece by pitchers, okay. And, because one thing about movie company, you can use everybody, even the dead ones. You can, there's always some you can, you know, they're extras, or they're working on the crew, and there's some, so I want to, I feel that that's the future of migration, immigration, is hiring them as a movie company. And then then you you know, who you got, and what they're doing and where they're at. And in a day, when they mess up as people do, then you, you know, they're not going to disappear. You're gonna go wherever you're going to know where all the immigrants are, that work for peace by pictures. And then I'm also I also got a plan to, to help Israel and the Palestinian state Indians. And what I want to put a theme park over there. And I want to call it hippy land. And the theme park will have a desalination plant so that we can get fresh water in a lake because that's a problem over there as water has always been always been a problem. So I want to get a leg but they have to share the lake, the Palestinians and the Jews. And so they'll have something in common to share the resort Happyland resort which is going to have a mountain for recreation made out of manmade mountain, you know, they don't Yeah, so so I've got that. And then there's one more project doo doo doo doo. There's one more I can't think of it right now. But, okay, but it's, it's all good see? The gun problem? I figured I figured out what we needed. You know, we needed the gun with the gun problem. Sure. That anybody that sells manufacturing, anybody that operates a firearm has to have insurance, interest rates or else legally you cannot operate a firearm, regardless of who you are. Okay, you have you have to be able to qualify for insurance and the insurance itself will protect your victims or anybody's victims will will be confiscated compensated by whatever firearm that was used by whoever used it, and blah, blah, blah, because then they will be covered by insurance. And if they're not, well, then they broken two laws. Yeah. And so it'll be up to the gun manufacturers to, to monitor who they sell it to. Because eventually, if you break the law, too many times you're not allowed. You won't be able to buy insurance. If you can't buy insurance, Build Operate. Yeah. Just add you like, Yeah, I do like that for a solution.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, I mean, that I still just worry some of these people that are just, you know, evil. I feel like we have to get to the root of the why these people want to hurt other people. If we could, you know, change that in society that would man that would change so many things. I feel like,

Tommy Chong:

No, you can't, because it's got free will look at look at the Catholic Church. You know, no, no, there isn't. House pedophiles. Right? In fact, it's the opposite. If anything, the pedophile would be the devil. And you would think they would be exercising them out of the church. But they don't. Right. Why? Because you're human. And so you can't hide behind an organization, or any kind of thing, if your hearts in the wrong place. So your heart has been in the right place. And so you were here to learn. This is a school yard. That's why it's physical. In the in the spiritual world. First of all, the spiritual world is so small. In terms of size, because there's no, there's nothing needed in the physical world, physical world, I mean, the spiritual world is made up of energy, just energy. See, you only get good neighbor in the physical world. But in the spiritual world, there's only good because it exists. And it wouldn't, if it was bad, it wouldn't exist. So that's why the Bible says that everything God made was good. And everything God did that made was not made. You see. So everything that we see is good. It's just depends on how people use it. Right now, now that's called free will. And that's, that's our learning thing. You know, because there'd be nothing to learn. If every everything was in a straight line, there'd be nothing to learn, there's been no reason for us to be here. And see, the reason we're here is that we're experiencing things. And then as we experience things, and we learn that it's a path. That's why they always say, you know, the righteous path is straight and narrow, because there's no room. But you wander off that path, and then you get into adventures. And then you learn from those adventures. Now, you might have to start at the bottom of the path again. But then that's another adventure. Because eternity means that there's nothing there, time does not exist. And so we're here, really, to learn. And the reason we're here, by the way, is to observe the greatness and the grandeur of God. And because God can't himself enjoy anything because he's got and so we're put here to do the enjoyment as an agent of God.

Chuck Shute:

Beautiful eye on I've enjoyed this. Thank you so much, Tommy, I will put all the show notes in the are the links in the show notes so people can check out your stuff. That was a been a pleasure. You've fulfilled the dream for me. I appreciate it.

Tommy Chong:

My pleasure. Okay, next time. Okay.

Chuck Shute:

Bye, bye. Okay, well, if you're still here, that interview took an interesting twist. And sometimes you got to just sit back and listen. And Tommy is just such an interesting guy. Obviously a big proponent of weed. And I definitely think that we should be legalized. I think for some people, weed really helps them and I know a lot of people who use the CBD stuff that does not have the THC so they don't get high. And I think for me, I think weed is just an occasional escape from reality. But to be honest, I really like reality right now. So I don't really feel the desire to do a lot of it. But sometimes I guess it's fun to take a little bit of a break. And the important thing is that we're all adults, and most adults should be able to make their own I'm choices and that's what makes this country so great is the freedom and choices that whether you never want to touch weed, whether you want to smoke it occasionally whether you want to use CBD or smoke weed every day. I respect all your decisions as long as that's something that's working for you. And I think I need to take some of y'all bowling so that can show you how to stay in your own lane. I hope you enjoy this episode. All the links to what we talked about are in the show notes. Thanks for listening. Have a great day. Go out there and chase your dreams and shoot for the moon.