Edmonton's Tommy Chong on fame and being a cannabis pioneer

Tommy Chong, Edmonton native and cannabis pioneer joined CTV Morning Live’s Kent Morrison to discuss his journey to his rise in fame in the cannabis counterculture and the Grow Up Conference in Edmonton.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

 

Kent Morrison: Well, six years after legalization in this country, cannabis is now a regular part of life, but here in Edmonton, a cannabis pioneer was born when all of this was just a pipe dream.

Championing the cause of counterculture for decades, and now he's coming back home, Tommy Chong joins us here on CTV Morning Live.

Tommy, great to see you now. I want to put something to rest here. We know that you were born in Edmonton, but you grew up in Calgary.

Do you consider Edmonton a hometown at all?

Tommy Chong: Absolutely, absolutely. Well, actually, we were not in Edmonton itself.

My dad had a homestead in a little place called Dapp in Alberta, and that's where I was when I was born in the General Hospital.

Then we lived in this little converted chicken coop in homestead in Dapp, Alberta for a winter.

I think we were there for one winter, and then my dad joined the Canadian Army and went to war.

Kent: Wow. So quite the journey from Dapp, Alberta to where you are now. When you come home to Alberta, what's it like for you?

Tommy: It's surreal. You know?

I've always felt that way with Edmonton, because my uncle, who I was named after, was a diving coach at the University of Alberta, and he went by the name of Tommy Chong.

He was very famous and well liked and loved.

He coached diving until he left this world and he couldn't swim.

Kent: He must have been quite the teacher then.

Tommy: They tried everything, but he had zero body fat because he was such a gymnast, he would get in the water and would sink right to the bottom.

But like I said, he coached the diving team until Tommy left this planet.

Kent: You certainly pushed that Tommy name even further to fame, representing the cannabis culture when it was on the counter side.

What is it like for you now that it's legal in this country, has been legal in this country, and is really part of everyday life?

Tommy: There's always been a racist tinge to the law, to the name, when they called it marijuana.

It was originally called cannabis, which is where the word Canvas comes from.

Where you paint on a canvas and it was a canvas that made the sails, that enabled the ships to sail from Spain to America.

So in a lot of ways, it was a cannabis trade that got America discovered.

Kent: You were at the forefront of a push that began decades ago. What do you think your legacy is right now?

Tommy: Being funny. You know, just being funny about it. I think that that was it. I went to prison over it, but when you go to prison in North America, there's a whole different vibe to it.

Actually, as you know, when I was on Dancing with the Stars, it was my wife that wanted to be on the show, not me.

When they found out she was married to me, they were looking for a celebrity. So next thing I know, I'm on Dancing with the Stars, and she's at home watching it.

Kent: You've had quite the journey and that journey is taking you back here to Edmonton.

We're looking forward to having you here this weekend. Certainly, a lot of people are going to be lined up to see you at this conference that's coming here.

You've had quite the legacy, and Edmonton will continue to claim you as a hometown hero.

Tommy: What's your name? By the way.

Kent: It's Kent.

Tommy: T, E, D?

Kent: K, E, N, T.

Tommy: T, E, N, T?

Kent: Close enough. It doesn't matter what my name is.

Your name is Tommy Chong. He's going to be here for the Grow Up Conference, which begins on Sunday at the Edmonton Convention Center.

You can learn more. If you want to go check them out, you can go to growupconference.com. Tell them Ted sent you.