Canada’s prohibition on recreational cannabis ended at midnight – fittingly, on the anniversary of Gord Downie’s death.
And why not? This country produced one of the world’s most famous stoners, Seth Rogen (of Vancouver), as well as one-half of the tokin’ twosome Cheech and Chong (Tommy is from Edmonton). Plus, classic stoner flicks like Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle and Half Baked were made in Toronto.
So, if you're marking legalization today you're going to need a soundtrack and, luckily, cannabis has inspired almost as many songs as heartbreak. It’s not hard to come up with a list of at least 420 songs about weed – from obvious ones like Rick James’ “Mary Jane” and 50 Cent’s “High All the Time” to more subtle ones like Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker” and The Doors’ “Light My Fire.”
Any playlist celebrating the legalization of marijuana is surely going to include some Bob Marley, Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson – not to mention “Sweet Leaf” by Black Sabbath and, really, anything by Dave Matthews Band. A little bit of Neil Young and The Tragically Hip will add some Canadiana.
Here are five more tracks we’d recommend rolling into your playlist:
This 1966 track sounds like nothing more than a silly love song – and it is. Paul McCartney has said he wrote it after being introduced to pot. “I kind of liked marijuana. I didn’t have a hard time with it and to me it was mind-expanding, literally mind-expanding,” he told Barry Miles for the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now. “So ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’ is really a song about that, it’s not to a person, it’s actually about pot. It’s saying, ‘I’m going to do this. This is not a bad idea.’”
Just when you thought Tom Petty had experienced “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” along came this 1994 song. “But let me get to the point,” he sings at least three times. “Let’s roll another joint.”
There’s no mystery about this one. “Yeah I smoke pot,” Cyrus sings at the very beginning of the song. In case that wasn’t clear, the bridge goes: “Loving what you sing, and loving smoking weed / Weed, weed, weed, weed / Sing about peace, being high and free.” Alright, we get it. (Warning: Video contains language some may find offensive.)
This 1982 reggae track is a mainstream take on the recreational marijuana anthem “Pass the Kouchie” by Mighty Diamonds. By replacing the slang word for a cannabis pipe with the patois word for a cooking pot (also a doughnut in Canada) and replacing references to weed with food, the song was able to get airplay. (But seriously, they couldn't make the song a minute longer?)
You can’t possibly be surprised this song made the list. Afroman (aka Joseph Foreman) had a big hit (pun intended) in 2000 with this catchy track listing things easily forgotten while high. As fun as it is, the song also serves as a cautionary tale. “I messed up my entire life because I got high / I lost my kids and wife because I got high,” he sings.