EXCLUSIVE: Tommy Chong On Cheech And Chong’s SXSW Premiere, Cannabis Legalization, The Perils Of Infused Popcorn
For some Americans, 2024 is an annus horribilis. For Tommy Chong, it’s an annus cannabis.
The “Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie” documentary premieres Tuesday at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. The comedy duo’s cannabis brand is launching in state after state and has expanded to include branded dispensorias. Their ads are all over X, formerly Twitter. And Cheech and Chong’s High & Dry THC-infused seltzer, announced last August, is hemp-derived, meaning it can be sold in convenience stores.
Chong will navigate these developments the same way he always does: stoned.
“It’s like a lie detector,” Chong says of the Cheech and Chong vape pen he carries in his pocket. “You can’t shut up after you do your vape. It’s so easy. If I were gonna go onstage to do a standup, that’s all I need.”
Chong spoke with Benzinga at its recent California Cannabis Market Spotlight about two upcoming films, cannabis legalization and why silence is a virtue when growing older.
Coming Attractions: “Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie,” co-produced by Chong’s daughter Robbi and directed by David Bushell, premieres Tuesday at the Paramount Theatre in Austin.
The project started off nine years ago as a simple documentary and morphed into a feature film, he says, and goes deep into his background and that of his comedy partner, Cheech …