To label Ted Nugent’s political opinions as “controversial” would be underselling the point. He is, after all, someone who once called former President Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel” and only apologized after some pressure from his political friends. If you think that’s bad, um, don’t look into his other past commentary on rappers, the Civil War, or homosexuality.
So maybe Nugent’s views on recreational marijuana shouldn’t come as a surprise. The “Cat Scratch Fever” singer recently appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and the two butted heads over cannabis usage. Vehemently arguing against recreational marijuana users, Nugent claimed that people are their “superior, definitive best without any outside influence,” whether that’s marijuana, alcohol, or other drugs.
Nugent mostly posited outdated “stoner” stereotypes, that cannabis makes you “numb” and careless. Rogan pushed back, stating that lazy stoners represent “a discipline thing, not the marijuana.”
What might surprise you, however, is that Nugent is a proponent of medicinal marijuana. In fact he’s been pro-medical marijuana since 2015, when he wrote in a Daily Caller op-ed to “take a toke on the hippie weed if you need it.” Nugent also told Rogan he’s “on a new council…working with President Trump to legalize medical marijuana nationwide.”
“I’m all for that. I deal with a lot of terminally ill kids, and there’s nothing that’s off limits to take away that suffering, so I need to fight for that,” Nugent explained on the podcast.
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It appeared that Rogan got through to Nugent when he compared the “lazy stoner” stereotype to those who view hunters as barbaric drunkards, not highly enthusiastic sportsmen. Nugent, a devoted hunter, understood the comparison all too well.
“What I’m saying is I know a lot of people who use—whether it’s psychedelics or marijuana—and they use it to enhance their perspective,” Rogan said. “It doesn’t become the primary focus of their life. It doesn’t consume their life. They don’t allow it to consume their life. There’s a whole other world of disciplined marijuana enthusiasts.”
You can watch their whole conversation above.
