"If you had weed, you wouldn't need sleeping pills" - Joe Rogan blames pharmaceutical companies for keeping marijuana illegal on Rocky Mountain High comedy set

Joe Rogan [Images courtesy of Comedy Central Stand-Up and The Joe Rogan Family on YouTube]

It's common knowledge that Joe Rogan isn't afraid to voice his opinions on sensitive topics with his audience and podcast guests. This is especially true when he's talking about recreational drug usage. Back in 2014 during his Rocky Mountain High comedy special, the comedian blamed pharmaceutical companies for keeping marijuana illegal in many states.

While speaking about why marijuana is being "kept" illegal, Rogan went on to suggest that pharmaceutical companies want to keep the drug off the market in order to sell their medication:

"Why is it illegal? Pharmaceutical companies are the big one, they don't want you to have weed because if you had weed, you wouldn't need to buy a lot of other s**t."

Watch Rogan speak about pharmaceutical companies and weed here:

Recreational use of marijuana is legal in 19 states, but many states still prohibit the use of the drug. While diving further into the matter, Rogan stated that the sale of sleeping pills would also suffer greatly if weed is made completely legal in the United States:

"If you had weed, you wouldn't need sleeping pills. Smoke pot, j**k off and try to stay awake."

Joe Rogan famously introduced Elon Musk to weed on an episode of the JRE podcast, which went viral around the world. The Telsa founder seemingly wasn't a fan, but didn't criticize Rogan for using the drug.

Watch Musk try weed on the JRE podcast here:

Did Joe Rogan make a documentary about DMT?

As mentioned, Joe Rogan is no stranger to talking about the use of drugs to his audience. In 2014, the UFC commentator hosted a documentary that explored the effects of DMT on the human mind and body.

The program is called The Spirit Molecule and involves using DMT volunteers to see the effects of the drug. The documentary also explores the links between the drug and spirituality, discussing the history behind ancient texts and figures. The Spirit Molecule describes Rogan as the tour guide of the documentary, who uses his hosting skills to present scientific and spiritualistic findings.

My pleasure brother. I'm sending you an email for information on the DMT light machine and I'm definitely ordering one for both of us 😜 twitter.com/dennismckenna4…

DMT or Dimethyltryptamine is commonly used as a recreational psychedelic drug, but it has also been used by various cultures for ritual purposes. In rituals, DMT is used as an entheogen for spiritual development.

In the United States, it's illegal to make, buy, possess, or sell DMT. Those found guilty of the violation can be sentenced to up to three years in jail in some states, depending on the charge.