Elon Musk has revealed how the federal government came after him following his 2018 appearance on The Joe Rogan Podcast after smoking marijuana during the interview. Earlier this week, the wealthiest man in the world sat down for a chat on the Full Send podcast, as he recalled being subjected to drug tests for a year after a clip of him taking several hits from a marijuana joint seemingly led to some harsh consequences for the Tesla CEO.
“I did get a lot of backlash because it’s still federally illegal,” Musk explained. “Space X has federal government contracts, so our competitors were like ‘’why aren’t you doing anything, look at him brazenly smoking weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast.’ They drug tested me for everything.”
😯The US Government drug tested @elonmusk because he brazenly smoked weed on @joerogan podcast pic.twitter.com/oLkMrtgAmn
— mackle (@therealmackle) August 5, 2022
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Once the video clip of Musk smoking weed went viral, Tesla’s stock took a noticeable hit, knocking billions off the company’s value, as shares plummeted by close to 10%. In a bid to offer his investors some reassurance amid the controversy, the 51-year-old addressed the matter in a statement, saying he was not “on weed.” Meanwhile, Musk recently weighed in on Brittney Griner’s ordeal in Russia, asking why people in the U.S. were still behind bars for marijuana offenses when the government is willing to trade Russian war criminals for her freedom.
“Maybe free some people in jail for weed here too?” Musk tweeted in response to President Joe Biden saying he would be willing to swap Viktor Bout for Griner. He followed up with a meme that included the caption, “People in the US in jail for weed while the government trades a Russian war criminal to free a woman’s basketball player in jail for weed.”
Though the tech mogul says he doesn’t use weed himself, this is not the first time he has spoken out against the laws concerning marijuana and the charges that have been made against those who were either caught selling or smoking it. In 2020, he famously said, “Selling weed literally went from major felony to essential business (open during pandemic) in much of America and yet many are still in prison. Doesn’t make sense, isn’t right.”
Elon Musk on Brittney Griner’s Russian detainment:
“If the president’s working so hard to free someone who’s in jail in Russia for some weed, then shouldn’t we free people in America … for the same stuff?” pic.twitter.com/HJdq5M8n0d
— The Recount (@therecount) August 5, 2022
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But during his interview with Rogan in 2018, Musk admitted that weed can often slow down productivity, so it’s not exactly helpful when people have things to get done. He reiterated his comment to the New York Post, saying, “There’s a reason for the word ‘stoned. You just sit there like a stone on weed.”