Jim Belushi’s transformation into a blue-collar weed farmer over the past couple years renders as one of the more intriguing instances of celebrities entering the cannabis industry. Other high-minded stars who also have become marijuana moguls like Snoop Dogg, Seth Rogen, or even Willie Nelson have been loud and proud about their cannabis love for decades-plus.
But Belushi’s more subdued, underground, content to run his weed farm without any special attention. Only after two years of market testing and careful curation selling his weed, did Belushi even decide to put his name on his product. And Jim believes that product could’ve saved the life of his brother, comedian and “SNL” powerhouse John Belushi.
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“I think what we know about marijuana today, if we knew in the ’70s, a lot more people would be alive, including my brother,” Jim Belushi told The Stranger. “Danny Aykryod said, ‘If your brother John was a pothead he would be alive today.’”
“The medicine of marijuana will help prevent the collapse of families,” he added. “I came from a collapsed family and the trauma of John’s death, you could imagine, and I’ve always been in search of family because of it. And this family of marijuana cannabis people is a terrific family. They’re all being led by the plant.”
Belushi also admitted he’s actively trying to separate his canna-business from what the rest of celebrities who get into the industry. Though that takes more time, he believes it’s worth it in the long run.
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“The difference between me and the men you just mentioned, all beautiful men by the way, is they are white labeling,” he said. “I am growing it. I am curing it. I am flushing out the irrigation to make sure the ash is white. I’m pruning it, I’m trimming it. And now I’m marketing it.”
Belushi’s also a strong advocate for the plant as medicine in people’s lives. While he only smokes his vape pen three times a week—though he uses CBD daily—Belushi doesn’t shy away from his belief that cannabis can assist in way not immediately apparent to those looking at the cannabis world from the outside-in.
“The wellness of cannabis is great for helping Alzheimer’s, people struggling with PTSD, people struggling with trauma,” he said. “The number one fear of life is death and the second is the collapse of family. Many people come from collapsed families, whether it’s divorce or a disease in the family that broke the family up, whether there’s a death like in my family, a loss of business, all of these people need some kind of medicine.”
