Bill Maher Talks ‘Offshore’ Pot Smoking and the War on Drugs
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the insanely smart and funny Real Time host talks Palin, pot, and politics, among other topics. Here — in honor of 4/20 — is the pot part.
You love pot.
Come on. You know I gave that shit up when I got saved… [Laughs]
When you’re out on the road, doing standup in Oklahoma City, how do you avoid … Willie Nelson problems?
I have only ever smoked marijuana 12 miles off the coast of the United States — that’s where it is legal. I learned that from William F. Buckley. I put a video up on FunnyorDie about a month or so ago called 12 Mile, I interviewed Sarah Silverman, and we had the ocean on a green screen, sailors’ caps — like we were on a boat. That was my subtle way of saying we were both very stoned in that interview — but we were 12 miles off the coast, so it is legal.
So what do you smoke — medical marijuana?
I only smoke what floats up there 12 miles off the coast! It’s lucky that there’s so much intercepted marijuana coming in from Mexico that it is floating out there in the ocean, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Why are you so out in front on the issue?
Partly because it has been beneficial in my life, partly because I believe in freedom. What could be more private than what goes on inside your mind? You should be allowed to manipulate that as an adult any way you want. Is it one of our top 10 problems, to legalize pot? No, but ending the drug war would be a great way to save a metric fuckton of money.