There are endless examples of famous people in America that are open about their cannabis use – Seth Rogan, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber, to name a few. These are all people who advocate for weed too, big names in the US are happy to speak publicly about their love of the plant. In the UK most of our celebrities aren’t as vocal about their cannabis use, because there is still a stigma surrounding the topic. Whilst we hope this changes, there are some great pop-culture moments from British celebrities enjoying cannabis, or recalling their cannabis experiences, with some unlikely faces making the list.
1. Gino Di’Campo gets baked in San Francisco
Celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsey and Gino D’Acampo join First Dates’ Fred Siriex on a journey across the US on their self-titled American Road Trip television show. In this clip the trio visit a cannabis restaurant in San Francisco, where they try some THC-infused food – apart from Gordon, who chooses to steer clear. In contrast, Gino and Fred try cannabis tea, sandwiches and more, and Gino especially is seen having a merry old time giggling away.
The chef who makes the food does so initially without the cannabis, and instead adds the infused oil after. This allows the customers to fully control their high and cater their experience to them, a great, responsible way of consuming cannabis. If only this were an option in the UK – readily available, legal cannabis that can be controlled and is accessible to consumers – let’s hope we’re headed in that direction!
2. Pat Butcher gets high with some nuns
Pam St Clements, the actress best known for playing Eastenders’ Pat Butcher, is well known for her cannabis use, and has been open about it for some time. She suffers from polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), an inflammatory condition that causes pain and stiffness in muscles, often affecting older people, and has attributed her weed use to finding relief the pain she lives with. In this clip, we see Pam embrace cannabis smoking, whilst some of her fellow show members seem less experienced, but give it a go all the same.
Pam and some other British celebrities are seen in America trying cannabis, even smoking with nuns! Later, they even go to a pot painting place (mind the pun) called Puff, Pass and Paint where Pam is seen enjoying a bong almost too much. She describes her time as “thoroughly enjoyable”, as she laughs away. Bobby George, a former darts player gets so high he ends up dipping his paintbrush into his wine instead of water, and as he so eloquently puts it, he “can’t stop fucking laughing” either!
3. Russell Howard’s Mum gets the giggles
There are a number of British celebs who’ve taken the opportunity to pop over to the US and sample the delights in states where cannabis is legal, but few have taken their Mum along for the ride. On a trip to Portland, Oregon, Comedian Russell Howard and his mother decided to try cannabis in various forms. Russell tries a vaporiser, some THC-infused chocolate and a bong. His mum adorably warns him not to “go overdosed” when he has a bite of chocolate, and even ends up trying some of it herself, her first time getting high. It isn’t long until she gets the giggles and even professes that her aches and pains are gone – “Miraculous isn’t it!”
4. Lily Allen pulls a whitey in the studio
https://twitter.com/julieadenuga/status/971760595488911362
Singer Lily Allen was no stranger to cannabis use in her youth – she even wrote the song Alfie about her younger brother, with the iconic line referencing him smoking weed as a teen in his bedroom. In this clip, Lily recalls a slightly embarrassing story about pulling a whitey at rapper Giggs’ house, when they were meant to be writing a song together.
She tells the story about how she escaped to the toilet to vomit, where Giggs found her lying on the floor in his bathroom. As she tried to kick the door shut she accidentally caught his head in the door, which adds to the humour of the whole strange situation. This story is hilarious, and Lily is very open about it happening during a time when she wasn’t feeling her best, but it’s a funny anecdote and it’s clear she has learnt from her mistake. We all go a bit too far every now and then, even famous people!
5. Louis Theroux embraces LA’s cannabis culture, for research purposes
Legendary documentarian Louis Theroux is no stranger to a controversial topic. When he’s not interviewing serial killers or investigating gangs, he is a cannabis supporter. As a guest on The Big Narstie Show, he talks about his smoking experiences as a teen in Britain, as well as experiencing it in California as a legal, ready-to-buy substance. He responsibly acknowledges the risk factors involved (as with any psychoactive substance, even alcohol) but also understands the benefits: “Basically, I support legalisation, I think it would be positive.” Big Narstie passionately agrees with him, and gives him some of the “strongest CBD on the market.” Gummies that he called power gummies, which Louis accepts and enjoys.
