When it became official that Donald Trump was to be the next president of the United States, the whole world gasped in collective shock. Hell, even saying the words ‘President Trump’ at this stage feels weird…and that’s putting it lightly. The cannabis community in particular didn’t exactly take kindly to the notion of Trump taking power, with Clinton having appeared – at least on the surface – to be the more liberal and proactive of the two candidates. But it wasn’t to be, with Trump having romped to victory and a new dawn of US history upon us.
But outside the realms of the average cannabis user or even those looking to get into business, what do the real legends of the scene think of it all? As in the true pioneers of cannabis culture in the United States? Say for example, Tommy Chong…what does he think about the way things are heading for cannabis under the Trump Administration?
Well, lucky for anyone wondering exactly that, the folks over at Sensi Mag scored an interview with the legend himself, Tommy Chong, in order to pose the questions we all wanted asking. So we thought we’d share a few extracts with you, which in some instances paint a wholly more reassuring picture than you might expect.
Terrified about the idea of a Trump presidency? Chong isn’t. Quite to the contrary, in fact.
“I’m feeling really, really good,” he said, when asked how he felt about the result.
“Especially because the marijuana initiatives passed in all the states. That’s really the first step toward education. Because once you smoke pot, you can’t put that genie back in the bottle.”
Tommy Chong, Against the Grain
Despite the fact that Trump has put the fear of God in millions of cannabis users with his conservative views and controversial cabinet appointments so far, the fact that he’s not afraid to go against the grain could technically be a good thing. Or at least, Tommy Chong seems to think so.
“Last night, I had quite an epiphany about the good part of the election. The fact that we elected a guy who’s totally his own boss. There’s no doubt about it: he doesn’t follow anybody. He’s a maverick, and I love that.”
He was also keen to point out the fact that when it comes to the cannabis industry in the United States, it’s about far more than simply growing substances for the sole purpose of getting high. He talked about the way in which green-lighting cannabis cultivation in larger areas than ever before stands to combat multiple problems, benefiting local and wider communities enormously.
“You can’t deny what’s happening. That’s why marijuana got passed. Because you cannot deny that marijuana is good for the human race. It’s an answer to a lot of our problems, including starvation, including unemployment. Including everything,” he said.
“That’s why there’s farmers in Ohio and Kansas, and they’re looking at California and they’re like “oh my god. We gotta legalize that here, so all of these empty fields where they used to grow corn for ethanol, they don’t need it anymore.” Those fields are just crying to be filled with marijuana plants,”
“With marijuana, you’re not only going to get a bud you can smoke, but you’re going to get a plant that you can wear, that you can eat, that you can use to make fuel for your car – you can make your car from the plastics made from the plant.”
On a slight down-note, the interview was carried out just before Trump began confirming some of his more controversial staffing appointments – one of which being Jeff Sessions as the new Attorney General. Prior to this, Tommy Chong had expressed his confidence in Trump making the right decisions for the people of America, backed by firm research, intelligence and intuition.
“I know everyone’s worried he’s going to appoint the wrong people,” Chong said.
“Don’t worry about Trump. He has a habit of doing his research, finding out what’s best for the world, what’s best for the country. He’s elected now, so he can use his power of intuition. Because that’s what he has. He has great intuition. He knows what to say.”
First America, Next the World
Tommy Chong with his supply
Regardless of who gets which job and how the president personally feels about cannabis however, Tommy Chong is in no doubt about the on-going safety and security of the cannabis industry. Like many industry leaders, he’s confident that things have already come too far to be reversed or stifled by any government, just as it would be unthinkable for the new administration to go against the clear will of the people.
“It’s what the people want. People want marijuana. Why? Because they googled it and they saw it cures epilepsy, it cures Alzheimer’s, it cures obesity. Once you clear the mind, then the mind dictates everything else,” he said.
“They won’t mess with the industry anymore. The people want it. The people voted. And that’s the way it is. That’s what I love about our country.”
In fact, he’s so confident about the way things are heading in the US right now that he thinks the new industry will inspire the whole world to follow suit.
“Once America goes, the whole world’s gonna go,” he said.
“It just takes time. It took me about… five minutes to realize this is what I want to smoke for the rest of my life. It’s just time. There’s a lot of people who believe it’s against their religion, or it’s against their culture. It’s misinformation in their head,”
“We’re here to learn. And you only learn by making mistakes. You got to go through these mazes, you hit a dead-end, and you turn around until you find your way out. It’s not easy. It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight. But it’s going to happen thanks to old age. The old part dies off, and the new age comes in.”
Feeling a little better about it all? If Tommy Chong has exactly zero worries about the future of the cannabis industry both in the United States and worldwide, we’d like to think the rest of us need not panic either. There may be obstacles to overcome and inevitable hold-ups along the way, but if time is all it takes, this really isn’t a bad thing.
Of course, there’s the rather unfortunate elephant in the room that is Sessions, but is it really likely that he’ll go down in history as the man who undid decades of positive progress by going against the wishes of most of the US public? It’s possible, but highly unlikely.
One thing’s for sure though – an interesting couple of years ahead for the US cannabis community, not to mention the rest of the world beyond.
