Thanks in large part to Carl Sagan, the cosmos and cannabis have always maintained a loose relationship with one another. Any dorm room light up could quickly veer into an exegesis on multiple universes, the pale blue light, or the existence of aliens. But renowned astrophysicist and noted Sagan acolyte Neil deGrasse Tyson recommends not actually smoking weed in space.
“Well, the problem is, in space now, many things will kill you,” he said. “So if you do anything to alter your understanding of what is reality, that’s not in the interest of your health. So if you want to get high in space, like lock yourself in your cabin and don’t come out because you could break stuff inadvertently. OK? That’s how that goes.”
This all started when a TMZ reporter approached Tyson on the streets to ask his opinions about the media scrutiny surrounding Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Last week, Musk went on Joe Rogan’s podcast for a hang session, which eventually led to him sipping whiskey and puffing a joint in front of the whole internet. Shortly thereafter, everyone lost their collective minds.
So Tyson came to the defense of Musk, asking, “Can they leave him alone? Let the man get high if he wants to get high.” Tyson then clarified his comments about Musk, particularly regarding Musk’s threat to take Tesla private.
“You know, he’s got to obey the [Securities and Exchange Commission], clearly. But if he doesn’t want to obey the SEC, then he’s got to have a private company, then he can do what he wants. But he took his company public, so there’s an accountability there to the public trust of what goes on on the stock market. But other than that, he’s the only game in town… Count me as team Elon.”
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“He’s the best thing we’ve had since Thomas Edison,” Tyson added.
This somehow led to the TMZ reporter asking Tyson what would happen if you smoked weed in space. Tyson has become a quiet advocate for cannabis legalization in recent years, adding that there’s very little he disagrees with Sagan on. However Tyson himself doesn’t partake in a few tokes, as he prefers a sober-minded approach to life.
“I think if you really analyze it, relative to other things that are legal, there is no reason for it to have ever been made illegal,” Tyson said last year. “Alcohol is legal and it can mess you up way more than smoking a few jays.”
