Tommy Chong, the excitable hippy of “That 70s Show” and the famed star of Cheech and Chong, has been the poster boy of the cannabis movement for over forty years. And he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Chong’s career started as an actor, after which we saw him become an eager cannabis activist, before finally transitioning into his final and ultimate superhero form — cannabis entrepreneur.
Tommy Chong Believes CBD is Going to Change the World
Today, Chong is a massive advocate for Marijuana and regards CBD as the next game-changer in the pharmaceutical world. In a recent interview, Chong said that the road to cannabis legalization was riddled with complications. And now that legalization is finally catching pace, more and more reckless opportunists are trying to find their way in.
Chong says that Marijuana might not have the backing it deserves at the moment. But, one cannabis-based product that’s going to change the game is CBD. This is why Chong is hedging his bets on CBD and investing huge sums to make sure he doesn’t miss out on the potential entrepreneurial CBD has to offer.
“The best part about CBD is that it has no ends. You can even sell it in pharmacies and drug stores,” says Chong. Through this statement, Chong is alluding to Walmart and CVS’s recent endorsement of CBD products in their chains.
Chong claims that CBD has an excellent safety profile. The World Health Organization has also substantiated this claim. Chong says that although we’re still in the early stages of finding out how CBD dosing affects the human body, anecdotal evidence is on CBD’s side, with no known cases of CBD overdose reported as of yet.
CBD Is the equal Opportunity Drug
The actor also thinks that CBD has similar therapeutic potential to Marijuana.
“Marijuana works great as a sleep aid. This is going to make old ladies the new face of the marijuana market. They face many problems with sleeping, and Marijuana is going to help them overcome these difficulties. China was prescribing Marijuana for menstrual cramps more than 5,000 years ago. Marijuana provides equal opportunity for everyone. Everyone can dig into its benefits, and everyone can use it.”
Chong and many other cannabis stakeholders see CBD as a potential replacement for opioids. This is especially relevant since the US finds itself caught in the middle of an inextricable opioid crisis that has taken the lives of many people already and continues to do so. Research suggests that more than 50% of overdoses and drug-related issues result from substance abuse.
Chong also goes one step ahead and claims that CBD proves pivotal in helping him overcome prostate and colorectal cancer. Science backs this claim, with one study indicating that cannabis can stomp the growth of prostate cancer. According to this research, cannabis prevents cancer from metastasizing to other organs, while at the same time shielding healthy cells from abnormal growth.
All About Chongson Inc.
One thing most people don’t about Chong is that he has a criminal record.
In 2003, he was arrested for funding a company to sell and distribute cannabis equipment, such as bongs, pipes, and other similar stuff. Because of this, Chong is not allowed to invest in the cannabis industry directly. However, despite this restraint, Chong didn’t step back. Realizing his influence on the broader cannabis community, he signed a cannabis company under the name of his son, Paris Chong. This company is called Chongson Inc.
Chong is very vocal about his son’s company. He says that he only goes into business with the best weed growers and the best dispensaries, and never compromises quality. He also says that he doesn’t take more than a small percentage of the final cut.
Chongson Inc. is associated with almost every store in the country. This is due to their excellent promotional strategies and reputation as one of the country’s best weed selling brands.
How Cannabis Helped with Tommy Chong’s Prostate Cancer
Cannabis is hitting mainstream popularity. Chong believes in a couple of years, CBD will spearhead a new wave of cannabis enthusiasts.
“Ladies are going to take gummy bears by their bedside. They’re going to chug it up like medicine and sleep like a baby.”
– Tommy Chong
To further understand Chong’s perspective, let’s talk about a story he brought up in one of his interviews. In 2014, when Colorado legalized recreational cannabis use for adults, Chong visited the state’s first legal dispensary and noticed something surprising. When he arrived at the store, he saw huge files of people lined up outside the store. Chong said that he thought these people were all there to get an appointment with Jesus and be healed. “There were all kinds of people who needed help. People in crutches. People with canes and wheelchairs and whatnot.”
Before investing in his own company, Chong went through a transitional phase. First, he tried to cure his cancer by traditional pharmaceutical drugs. However, this didn’t work well. The doctors said that it’s slowly progressive prostate cancer, and it didn’t pose any immediate harm, so he shouldn’t bother trying to treat it. But Tommy took things into his own hands after making a guest appearance in the show Dancing with the Stars.
Surprisingly, though, Chong didn’t recur to cannabis right away. At first, he turned to traditional pharmaceutical drugs to treat his illness.
In the show, Tommy said that the stress of having cancer got to his head. Long story short: Tommy had an operation, after which he started treating himself with cannabis. He tried to get himself off from all the addictive drugs and pharmaceutical opioids. Cannabis greatly helped with this.
Now, he claims he’s cancer-free and is taking lessons to become a tango dancer. However, he wants his followers to know that this doesn’t mean cannabis cures cancer; it only means that cannabis was part of a holistic treatment that comprised other drugs as well. And all of this combined contributed to his remissions and ultimately complete recovery.
