Great Moments in Weed History

43:07

How Sour Diesel Lit Up NYC

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/10/07

New York City's most legendary strain first surfaced at a downtown hippie rock club, and ascended into being the premier smoke among the Baked Apple's celebrity set and lit-erati. Sourcing, buying, selling and eventually growing this game-changing strain was an obsession for a young herb aficionado named AJ (a.k.a "Asshole Joe"), whose fortunes rose and fell as part of Gotham's rough-and-tumble underground scene. For decades, AJ kept his hustle a secret from even his closest friends, but now he's

en

65:19

Reggae Vibes, Underground Herb and Pet CBD

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/09/30

Aaron Argueta’s weed journey touches on the Southern California reggae scene, the freewheeling medical cannabis grey market, and the emerging world of CBD for pets, with stops along the way in jail and business school.It all started with some early, formative, aromatic encounters courtesy of his herb loving father, followed by advanced weed mentorships from a world-famous ganja farmer and the band Slightly Stooped. Today, Aaron is the co-founder of Bailey’s CBD For Pets, a California wellness

en

62:09

Let's Nerd Out About Weed (w/ Alec Dixon)

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/09/16

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 someone who's seen and smoked as much cannabis as anyone on Earth.As co-founder of SC Labs—one of the first cannabis analytical laboratories—Alec Dixon helped pioneer the use of scientific assessment to increase our understanding of cannabis, while providing the public with third-party verification that their stash is free of potentially

en

41:42

A Psychedelic Rock Star's Greatest 'Hits' (w/ Jorma...

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/09/02

As lead guitar for Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, Jorma Kaukonen performed at Woodstock, Altamont, the Monterey Pop Festival and on some of the most legendary concert bills of the psychedelic rock era, sharing the stage with everyone from the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin to B.B. King and Muddy Waters.Along the way, he not only lived cannabis history, he inhaled it. As you’re about to hear… For the past three decades, Jorma has been happily living a sober life, but when a lifetime of non-stop

en

52:05

'Pizza Movie' Made Stoner Comedy Cool Again

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/08/19

Meet the brains behind "Pizza Movie," which hit Hulu a few months ago and became something of an instant cult classic. Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher joined (or jointed) forces as BriTANicK while still in college and have been creating distinctively stoner-friendly comedy together ever since. From sharing their earliest herbal experiences at NYU, to working on Pizza Movie together for nearly a decade, in our conversation we get into the many high and lows of their shared journey as improvisers,

en

57:21

How Do We End the 'War on Drugs?'

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/08/05

For 35 years, Families Against Mandatory Minimums has resisted America’s War on Drugs by sharing the stories of people subjected to unconscionable prison sentences for non-violent drug offenses.In this episode, FAMM's general counsel Shannon Rifkin explains how the organization convinces lawmakers and communities to adopt harm reduction based approaches to drug policy, and what you can do to help the cause . PATREON Please⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on

en

51:58

Can Cannabis Boost Your Creativity? (with Sklyer Higley)

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/07/22

Acclaimed comedian Skyler Higley discusses the highs, lows and potential pot-holes of using cannabis as a creative tool, While also recalling his own weedy journey as a stand-up, writer for The Onion and the New Yorker, and frequent collaborator with Conan O'Brien.Don't miss this episode if you want to know how to have more (and better) high-deas while getting lit. And the check out Skyler's new podcast, Help Me Be Black

en

55:27

7/10 Special: Psychedelic Surfers Invented Dabs

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/07/08

Best known for distributing massive amounts of LSD , the Brotherhood of Eternal Love was an outlaw group of surfers, smugglers, and psychedelic evangelists who also exported so much hashish out of Afghanistan that they developed a game-changing new way to move the product at scale. Working with their in-house research-and-development team, the Brotherhood invented a highly innovative chemical solvent-based concentration system that gave rise to the modern dab. So settle in for a wild ride, and

en

57:32

Survivor: Ethan Zohn on Soccer, Cannabis, Cancer and...

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/06/24

In 2002, professional soccer player Ethan Zohn won Africa: Survivor, netting himself a $1 million dollar prize and overnight fame. But it was his subsequent battle against cancer that made him a true survivor, and also opened his eyes to the therapeutic power of cannabis. As you’ll hear in our interview, Ethan tried smoking herb just once as a college student, and liked it, but felt he had to put all forms of intoxication aside to focus on his athletic career. Years later, however, the plant

en

54:14

A Teenage Weed Bust Planted a Seed of Resistance (...

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/06/10

Like many lifelong weed activists, Brian "Box" Brown’s radicalization began with a youthful arrest.His form of resistance? Brian is an acclaimed comics artist, whose works include Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America, a comprehensive, book-length graphic novel tracing the history of cannabis prohibition all the way back to the 19th Century. He currently publishes a weekly syndicated column called Legalization Nation that tracks the high and lows of the new legal industry. With a

en

67:10

Getting Lit with Latin America's #1 Weed Enthusiast

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/05/27

Simon Espinosa, a young comedy writer from Santiago, Chile, turned a stoned text message chain with his brother into by far the largest Spanish-language cannabis media platform on the planet. En Vola (which literary translates to “in flight”) started in 2012 as a rudimentary website where stoners could post their most mind-bending and ingenious high-deas. Today, Simon and his collaborators have accumulated over 85 million views on YouTube alone. And Simon doesn’t just create comedic weed videos,

en

61:49

A Doctor Explains Why Grandma Should Probably Get a...

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/05/13

Dr. Peter Grinspoon—author of the new book Aging Well with Cannabis: Feel Better, Sleep Better, and Live Better with Marijuana and CBD—explains that senior citizens are the fastest growing demo of cannabis consumers. But they often need help accessing information and safely ingesting the plant. Dr. Grinspoon is a primary care physician and educator at Massachusetts General Hospital, an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and serves as a board member of the advocacy group Doctors For

en

52:55

Is Cannabis Rescheduling a 'High Point' to Celebrate...

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/04/29

This week saw weed history happen in real time when the federal government announced its officially rescheduling cannabis out of Schedule 1, the most restrictive category. To be clear, so far much remains unclear about this process, which will happen in phases. Amid a lot of confusion, there’s cause for excitement, but also cause for concern. So for a clearer picture of what the future holds, we reached out to Shaleen Title, a lawyer, activist, adjunct professor and director of the Parabola

en

49:53

4/20 Weed-a-Thon w/ Gabrus + Hulu's New Weed Doc Series

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/04/15

Comedic 'heavy hitter' Jon Gabrus joins the year's weediest episode. Plus Bean shares details from 4x20 Quick Hits, a new Hulu original series he worked on that's dropping on April 20th, with episodes about High Times founder Tom Forcade, the history of functional art glass, the making of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and, last but not least, the Legend of Ganjasaurus Rex!MEGASESHTickets and livestream passes for Gabrus's 5th Annual Mega-sesh are available from Dynasty

en

51:12

High & Low Maintenance (w/ Ben Sinclair)

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/04/08

Writer, actor and director Ben Sinclair is best known as co-creator and star of the HBO series High Maintenance. A recent New York Times headline asked: “What happens when TV’s favorite weed dealer tries to quit?”The article centered around Low Maintenance, Ben’s new Substack column, where he “delves into his complicated relationship with marijuana." I've known Ben a little bit, for a long time, and wanted to take this opportunity to hear more about his current journey with(out) weed, and also to

en

68:39

Sparking a Weed Uprising in Minneapolis

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/03/25

Angela Dawson is a fourth generation farmer, albeit the first of her name to farm cannabis. She’s also a leading weed activist in the state of Minnesota, who's currently preparing for the 4/20 soft-launch of "The Garden on 26th," a new licensed retail dispensary in South Minneapolis that will sit just steps from where Alex Pretti was publicly executed by ICE agents in January.Angela and I discuss the many ways the War on Drugs laid the groundwork for our government's current disastrous, cruel and

en

56:40

4/20 Origin Story + A High Holiday Manifesto

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/03/11

Gettin’ lit on 4/20 used to mean something special. And it will again. So on this episode, to spark that return to glory, we’re going to trace the origin story of our annual high holiday all the way back to its roots, as the singular creation of a small group of stoners on an epic quest way back in 1971. That’s right, it’s time recount the epic story of the Waldos—but with a twist. This year we’re not just going to celebrate this unique history, we’re also gonna make a pledge to not let 4/20

en

44:35

True Crime: A Killing in Cannabis

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/02/25

In 2019, Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur Tushar Atre met a tragic end after paddling out into the rough waters of the underground cannabis scene in surfer haven Santa Cruz, California,At once a love story, a crime drama, and a who-dun-it, this epic tale is chronicled in the riveting new book A Killing in Cannabis. My guest for this episode is the book's author, Scott Eden.

en

64:35

Reefer Madness 2: Electric Boogaloo

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/02/11

A prominent anti-weed editorial in this week's NY Times is just the latest attempt to resurrect the kind of government propaganda and media hysteria that helped make the plant illegal in the first place. So we talked with Kyle Boyar, a scientist with a background in neurology, microbiology, and analytical chemistry and an expertise in cannabis about the junk science used to discredit cannabis, the harsh reality and hyped hysteria around Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, the potential ill effects

en

67:19

A Smuggler's Daughter Tells All

Great Moments in Weed History ·

2026/01/28

Rainbow Valentine is the creator behind Disorganized Crime: Smuggler’s Daughter, a first-person podcast series that explores her life growing up as the offspring of two psych*delic pioneers—as she calls them—who together operated a cross-country w--d distribution ring while living a life fully immersed in hippies, seekers, and counterculture luminaries. After digging into our GMIWH interview, be sure to check out Rainbow’s own podcasts, not just Disorganized Crime: Smuggler’s Daughter about her

en

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

pplpod

pplpod

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

This Day in Disney History

ATIS Products

Hour of Power

Mechanical Music Radio