May 29 2005 - Talk show icon Johnny Carson died in January, and his death was mourned by fans around the world. But what many did not know was that, like virtually every major talk show host that followed him, Johnny Carson was a fan of the forbidden herb.

In a 1982 documentary called Johnny Goes Home, Carson took his viewers on a tour of his hometown Norfolk, Nebraska. He rode in his old High School's homecoming parade, and also took viewers inside the local movie theater, where he explained how he and his friends had first seen the classic anti-pot propaganda film Reefer Madness.

"As a kid I did grow up in what was called an innocent age..." said Carson. "We had heard about marijuana, we weren't very sure what it was, but we found out because one day, right up on that screen, a picture played here in the late 30's called Reefer Madness. We didn't know what "reefer madness" meant either, but it had to do with the evils of marijuana smoking. Wayward girls would have terrible, wanton behavior. We didn't know what that meant, but we wanted some of that."

Carson had previously explained his marijuana views in a 1967 interview with Playboy, when Carson was asked his thoughts on pot and LSD.

"I don't put marijuana in the same bag with LSD or any of the hard narcotics," said Carson. "People are wrong when they say marijuana isn't addicting, though. I've known people who use it, known them all my adult life, and I know they are at least psychologically addicted. But it's just a mild stimulant, actually. And I think that the laws against its use are repressive out of all proportion."

Although Carson avoided openly discussing his own personal political views on his show, saying "I just don't feel that Johnny Carson should become a social commentator," he occasionally let his open-minded fondness for toking slip through.

Carson liked to imply that his band leader, Doc Severinsen, was a heavy pot smoker. One classic quip came when President Carter recommended in 1977 that possessing under an ounce of bud shouldn't be illegal. "The trouble is that nobody in our band knows what an ounce or less means," joked Carson. To which Doc replied, "It means you're about out."

source: cannabisculture.com