On his TBS late night talk show, Conan O’Brien delighted fans with a segment where he helped one of his staffers practice her driving skills. With the help of Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, the quartet cruised through Los Angeles, eventually stopping at a medical marijuana dispensary and filling a piñata full of fluffy buds.
This isn’t the first time Conan has wrung laughs from cannabis. Across his many talk shows throughout his career (from “Late Night” to “The Tonight Show” to “Conan”), he’s dedicated quite a few jokes and funny segments to the versatile plant. Here’s a roundup of some of his best bits to-date.
Conan and Martha Stewart Have Some Arts and Crafts Time
Bonus points to Martha for identifying the leaves as “Cannabis sativa.”
Conan’s “Camera Man” Feels the Effects of Too Many Edibles
As Conan discusses Maureen Dowd’s op-ed about getting entirely too high from a very potent edible, Conan’s “camera man” has a paranoid inner monologue where he confesses to eating an entire “weed Rice Krispie treat” and is convinced everyone can tell he’s stoned. We’ve all been there (OK, maybe not the “jumping out of a window” part).
Conan Explores Why Teen Cannabis Use is Declining
Conan reports that fewer teens are using cannabis, which leads to a segment where a dad demands to know why his son refuses to enjoy the bag of product he left out.
Conan and Andy Richter Share a “Pot Brownie” with Larry King
After Larry King tells Conan he gave up smoking cannabis because he was afraid it’d lure him back to smoking cigarettes after he’d suffered a heart attack, Conan recommends he try edibles instead and the trio splits a “pot brownie” on camera.
Do you think it’s actually an infused brownie? I want to believe. (Also, I vote to change the word “joints” to “cuckoo dust.”)
Conan Shoots Bricks of Cannabis at Cardboard Cutouts of Celebrity “Stoners”
After sharing reports of Mexican police confiscating cannons designed to shoot bricks of cannabis across the Mexico–U.S. border, Conan insists that Mexico loaned his crew a cannon so they could hurl packages of marijuana at the mouths of cannabis-friendly celebrities in cardboard cutout form. Targets include Seth Rogen and Miley Cyrus, with the “ultimate celebrity stoner” being saved for last. Who is it? You’ll have to watch to find out!
Conan Sees How Well a “Cannabuster” Works to Determine if a Driver is Under the Influence of Cannabis
After hearing about two Ohio graduate students working on a “cannabuster” to help police determine whether a driver is under the influence of cannabis, he shows the audience how well the test works.
Conan Shares a “Pro-Legalization” Ad
Conan highlights California’s efforts to legalize cannabis, first showing an anti-legalization ad before airing a convincing argument in support of cannabis legalization.
Andy Predicts the Downsides of Breeding “Marijuana-Eating Locusts”
One of Conan’s best recurring segments was “In the Year 2000,” where he and Andy Richter would make outlandish predictions for the near future. In this clip, Andy insists that the government eventually breeds “marijuana-eating locusts” in order to “combat drug use,” but the secret project has to be abandoned for a very valid reason.
Conan Asks a Guest How She Reacted to Being Cast as a “Pot-Smoking Granny”
One of my favorite Conan clips of all time is short but oh-so-sweet. He interviews the late Helen Martin, who appears in the 1996 spoof comedy Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. When Conan asks Ms. Martin how she felt about being cast as a “pot-smoking granny,” her response becomes an instant classic.
