I have a confession to make. Although I write about cannabis, I’ve never quite gotten the hang of rolling a proper joint. No matter how much effort I would expend, the fruits of my labor always ended up bulging oddly, jutting off at an angle or, perhaps the ultimate mark of failure, burning unevenly.
So, deep in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to seek professional help from legendary singer, songwriter and stoner David Crosby, a man with decades of weed-smoking experience under his belt (make that behind his suspenders).
I sought out Crosby not only because he’s a rocker who knows how to roll, but because over the last few years, he has earned a reputation for doling out sage advice (not just on cannabis either) via a long-running column in Rolling Stone magazine called “Ask Croz” as well as humorously critiquing the joint-rolling handiwork submitted for scrutiny via social media.
Although Crosby’s preferred consumption method these days is a Pax vaporizer (he points out it’s easier on the throat and lungs of a still-working musician), he was game to give me a firsthand tutorial in the fine art of joint rolling at his home outside Santa Barbara.
During the visit, the opinionated musician also gave me a tour of his garden, talked about his life-long love of weed, how he became the Beatles ganja go-to in L.A. and long-simmering plans to parlay his well-known penchant for pot into an authentic — and seriously strong — celebrity cannabis brand after federal prohibition is in the rearview mirror.
Highlights from that conversation appear above as Episode 3 of the Green Room, the Los Angeles Times’ new video series that focuses on California’s cannabis culture and commerce. The first two installments (as well as future episodes, which are currently scheduled to drop every other Tuesday) can be found in The Times’ growing collection of cannabis-related content at latimes.com/topic/cannabis.
The Green Room
A video series on cannabis, commerce and culture.
