Elon Musk had to be drug tested for a whole year after smoking weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast
Now the FDA is thinking about defining marijuana as a lower-risk drug.
The most-watched episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast to date is episode 1169, featuring Tesla CEO Elon Musk. This particular episode garnered significant attention, not only because viewers were eager to hear from the serial entrepreneur about his latest ventures, but also because Musk did something quite unconventional for a tech billionaire — he smoked weed on camera.
Indeed, Musk's 2018 on-air act quickly became headline material for a variety of news outlets, ranging from CNN and BBC to FOX Business. Furthermore, it ignited a flurry of memes across social media platforms.
However, this stunt wasn't without consequences for Musk, who currently holds the title of the world's richest person with a net worth of $204.1 billion.
During a 2022 interview on the "Full Send” podcast, Musk shared the aftermath of his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, revealing, “The consequences for me and for SpaceX were actually not good, because [weed] is federally illegal and SpaceX had federal contracts.”
As a result, Musk found himself subjected to a series of drug tests.
“I had to have like random drug tests and stuff after that, to prove that I'm not like a drug addict…They drug tested me for everything, and randomly… I had like a whole year of random drug tests,” he elaborated.
In the U.S., the trajectory of cannabis legalization has seen considerable advancement at the state level. By the time Musk took that infamous puff on Rogan’s podcast in 2018, cannabis had already been legalized in multiple states. However, on the federal front, marijuana was — and still remains — categorized as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act.
Nonetheless, this status might soon be evolving.
From Schedule I to Schedule III?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed that marijuana be reclassified from a Schedule I to Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act, based on scientific and medical evaluations. This recommendation was recently released in documents by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“After assessing all available preclinical, clinical, and epidemiological data, FDA recommends that marijuana be rescheduled from Schedule I into Schedule III of the CSA,” the documents said.
“Schedule III drugs are classified as having a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II, a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence that may result from their use. NIDA [National Institute on Drug Abuse] concurs with this recommendation.”
Transitioning from Schedule I to Schedule III would reposition marijuana from the same classification as heroin and LSD to the category that includes substances like anabolic steroids and ketamine.
While the DEA has yet to act on this recommendation, it has the potential to ignite a new era for the cannabis industry.
The industry is already flourishing. According to Grand View Research, the U.S. cannabis market was valued at $13.2 billion in 2022. Moreover, this figure is expected to continue its upward trajectory at a compound annual growth rate of 14.2% from 2023 to 2030.
