Tommy Chong on Dancing, Aging and (of Course) Marijuana

Marijuana.com

“I’m Chong, man.”

That’s how Tommy Chong introduced himself to his new dancing partner and reintroduced himself to the world last Monday. A pre-recorded segment shown before Chong made his debut on Dancing With the Stars had him stumbling out of the back of a smoke-filled hippie van.

The green theme in his clothes — and everything else on stage — during his performance wasn’t subtle, but neither is Chong. He makes no secret about his goal of furthering the medical marijuana cause during his time on the show. Maybe it’s just for the easy puns, but ABC doesn’t have a problem with it.

“Absolutely the opposite.” Chong says when asked about backlash from representing marijuana on a “family” show. He explains that people have trouble demonizing the plant now that they are seeing how much it can help sick people. He claims his advocacy lets people understand him better.

“That pretty much shows everybody that I’m an actor playing a stoner, not a stoner playing an actor.”

Doctors diagnosed Chong with prostate cancer in 2012. A year later, after foregoing traditional chemotherapy in favor of high-dosage cannabis oil treatments, the comedian declared victory over the Big C. Along with a renewed faith in the healing powers of cannabis, Chong credits his cancer scare with being in better than average shape.

“I had to change my diet, then I had to get serious about working out. All that led to me being in shape enough so that I can dance with these young people.”

Despite being the oldest cast member at 76, Chong says he feels good. He compared being old on a dance show to having a big handicap in a golf tournament. Rehearsals, on the other hand, are no walk in the park.

“They go for 4 hours, 5 hours sometimes. It’s very intense.” says Chong. “Like a boot camp for dancers. We’re going into battle, so we have to be prepared.”

The wise gateway

Media and television continue to rely on stereotypes of lazy pot smokers as nothing more than comic relief. While Chong joins in on the marijuana gags and puns, a chat with him reveals that there is more to him than this. He says once people know that he is supporting medical marijuana openly on the show, that’s the first question they ask.

In this spirit, the NORML Advisory Board Member shared with Marijuana.com his new take on the “gateway drug” theory.

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Source: http://truthisscary.com/2014/09/tommy-chong-on-dancing-aging-and-of-course-marijuana/