Last year, Seth Rogen entered the legal cannabis market with Houseplant, co-founded with friend and collaborator Evan Goldberg. But in spite of his new role in the cannabiz, Rogen is still attuned to the stigma that accompanies the substance and hopes that it can one day be treated similar to alcohol.
In conversation with the Canadian Press, Rogen and Goldberg were hopeful for a time where cannabis-infused beverages, like those that Houseplant offers, could be served at your local watering hole.
"It'd be nice if they served it in bars," Rogen said, adding. "It would also be nice if bars were open, so baby steps."
Rogen points to alcohol specifically as a substance for which a comparable illegal market no longer exists, calling the Canadian government's plans to deal with black market cannabis "not incredibly helpful if their actual goal is to destroy the black market," as companies continue to make legal leaf more expensive.
"There's a reason that we don't buy alcohol illegally anymore. It's because no one has any incentive to sell illegally because they made it very easy to sell alcohol," Rogen said. "The beer industry has been enabled to thrive in a way that the cannabis industry has not right now and until they are the same, the black market will continue to thrive."
Of the social stigma that has long surrounded cannabis, Rogen offered, "I smoke weed all day and every day and have for 20 years. For me, it's like glasses or shoes. It's something I need to navigate my life.
"People have tried to make me feel shame about it over the years or have tried to make me seem like I'm weak or stupid for integrating it so completely into my life, but I'm almost 40 now, I'm married, I have a good job and I have just found that none of the stigmas I was told to be true are true."
In August, Rogen starred in An American Pickle and imparted some sage advice on those looking to fill physically-distanced downtime.
In conversation with the Canadian Press, Rogen and Goldberg were hopeful for a time where cannabis-infused beverages, like those that Houseplant offers, could be served at your local watering hole.
"It'd be nice if they served it in bars," Rogen said, adding. "It would also be nice if bars were open, so baby steps."
Rogen points to alcohol specifically as a substance for which a comparable illegal market no longer exists, calling the Canadian government's plans to deal with black market cannabis "not incredibly helpful if their actual goal is to destroy the black market," as companies continue to make legal leaf more expensive.
"There's a reason that we don't buy alcohol illegally anymore. It's because no one has any incentive to sell illegally because they made it very easy to sell alcohol," Rogen said. "The beer industry has been enabled to thrive in a way that the cannabis industry has not right now and until they are the same, the black market will continue to thrive."
Of the social stigma that has long surrounded cannabis, Rogen offered, "I smoke weed all day and every day and have for 20 years. For me, it's like glasses or shoes. It's something I need to navigate my life.
"People have tried to make me feel shame about it over the years or have tried to make me seem like I'm weak or stupid for integrating it so completely into my life, but I'm almost 40 now, I'm married, I have a good job and I have just found that none of the stigmas I was told to be true are true."
In August, Rogen starred in An American Pickle and imparted some sage advice on those looking to fill physically-distanced downtime.