10 Things That Happen In Every Joe Rogan Experience Episode
2. Elaborating On The Weed Smear Campaign Devised By William Randolf Hearst
As noted before, Joe has always been one of the leading voices in the entertainment industry in the campaign for the legalisation of cannabis both medicinally and recreationally in the US.
One of Joe's favourite stories to tell on the podcast relating to cannabis is how it ended up being illegal in the first place. Now, I'm no weed historian, so I can't exactly verify the truth of this, but, according to Rogan, William Randolf Hearst the American businessman and newspaper magnate was instrumental in getting cannabis criminalised because he feared that hemp paper derived from the plant could seriously damage the profits of his investments in the logging industry.
Hearst then went on to run a variety of advertising campaigns in his newspapers that amounted to little more than propaganda, aimed at demonising the cannabis plant, and embedding stereotypes regarding those that use it for recreational purposes, some of which still exist today.
Joe's consistent retelling of this story is hardly a surprise. If we learned anything from the infamous Steven Crowder podcast, it is that Joe doesn't take kindly to those who attempt to disparage his favourite plant.