Tommy Chong

Cannabis Ambassador

We interviewed the esteemed Tommy Chong in his beautiful Pacific Palisades home. He is featured in our documentary, “Cannabis the Story.”

He is as kind and humble as he appears in all those Cheech & Chong movies.  Tommy regaled us with some great stories of his Canadian childhood, how he first became acquainted with Cannabis, his early musical career, and how Cheech & Chong came to be.

First Time He Got Stoned

What was it like when he took his first toke?

Tommy: “My first marijuana trip was, I was 17 years old. I was in a jazz club called the a Flat Fifth and this Chinese bass player came back from LA and he had two gifts for me. He had a Lenny Bruce record and a joint and he handed me the Lenny Bruce and the joint and I put the joint in my pocket. And so he lit up his other joint that he had from his private stash. That was the first toke I’ve ever had in my life.

And I can tell you, it changed my life. It really did. The music that was playing, I heard music for the first time when I was high. It was an Ornette Coleman song called lonely woman. I’ve looked it up and it’s still incredible and when I heard that song being played when I was high on pot, I could literally see the lonely woman sitting in a hotel room looking out the window.”

Nectarball: The Story of Cannabis

There’s more but you’ll have to find out when you see the documentary.

When will it be finished?

“Cannabis the Story” is now finished and will be wending its way into the film festivals shortly.

Meanwhile, here is a live recording I found on Youtube, Ornette Coleman performing “Lonely Woman.”