Joe Rogan has been an outspoken proponent of marijuana and hemp for many years. Rogan generally seems to recommend many substances that alter your consciousness and allows for what he calls “exploration” in that space — though he does suggest moderation and careful use. With that in mind, it only makes sense that Rogan would get riled up after Joe Biden’s most recent statement on marijuana. 

Biden recently said he believes marijuana is a “gateway drug,” a sentiment that is often seen these days as a holdover from the era of “D.A.R.E.” Some people also view this sentiment as general misinformation on what marijuana is like as a controlled substance, and Joe Rogan is certainly one of those people. Now, he’s calling Biden a knucklehead.

Joe Biden’s marijuana comment

During a Las Vegas event in late November, Joe Biden revealed that he’s not entirely comfortable endorsing marijuana. During the event, Biden said, “The truth of the matter is, there’s not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug. It’s a debate, and I want a lot more before I legalize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it.”

Biden’s comment drew some sharp-tongued responses from his rivals and some members of his constituents. Senator Cory Booker ripped into Biden for his comment during the Democratic debates shortly afterward. 

Booker said of Biden, “This week I heard him literally say I don’t think we should legalize marijuana. I thought you might have been high when you said it. Marijuana in our country is already legal for privileged people.”

For Biden, this was particularly damning. Many of his competitors have taken stances that involve legalizing marijuana, whereas Biden seems to be in favor of reducing marijuana to a less restrictive category than it resides in currently. Pundits have generally agreed that Biden’s statement makes him look out of touch to the younger generations of voters. 

Joe Rogan loves hemp

Podcaster, comedian, and UFC commentator Joe Rogan ripped into Biden’s stance on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. But before doing so, Rogan took the time to outline the benefits of hemp, discussing why he loves it, and why it’s a worthwhile focus for American industries. 

While discussing plastics and polymers, Rogan said, “A great solution is hemp plastic. It’s biodegradable, it comes from a plant, you can make hemp plastic. … Hemp is so weird, it doesn’t even seem like it should be real. You can make hempcrete out of it, which is far better than any building material we use. It’s far more resistant to flame, there’s so many positive benefits to it in terms of insulation.”

Rogan went on to say, “Hemp is an extraordinary plant. First of all, it has all the essential amino acids, I love hemp protein. … You can make clothing, you can make far more durable cloth, the paper is far superior.”

Rogan went on to claim that William Randolph Hearts, an American newspaper tycoon, went on to demonize marijuana in his papers and by backing anti-marijuana films like Reefer Madness. According to Rogan, Hearst did this because he was threatened by the up-and-coming hemp industry at the time, which would have destabilized his paper industry if it had been allowed to blossom.

Joe Rogan calls Joe Biden a ‘knucklehead’

After delivering his personal thoughts on hemp, Joe Rogan went on to dig into Joe Biden and his comments about marijuana. 

“You still have knuckleheads like Joe Biden, literally yesterday, saying that he thinks marijuana is a gateway drug. But forget about marijuana, imagine if it wasn’t psychoactive at all. The idea that hemp should be illegal until really recently in this country is a f*cking travesty. It’s horrific. It’s food, it’s clothes, it’s paper — doesn’t even make sense that it could be so many things,” opined Rogan. 

“I basically had a well-worded thing saying that anyone who thinks that marijuana should be [illegal] is basically saying that you should be locked in a cage for experimenting with your consciousness,” said Rogan of an Instagram post he made.

“In the history of the human race there has never been a single overdose on marijuana,” said Rogan. “And this knucklehead saying that it’s a gateway drug — no, pain is a gateway drug. Trauma is a gateway drug. Abuse is a gateway to drugs. It’s not marijuana. Marijuana is just a time-honored psychedelic substance that people have been enjoying for thousands and thousands of years.”