Noted rational human and celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson came out publicly in support of cannabis legalization this week during a live panel discussion broadcast on his Facebook page. The Cosmos host and professional science guy was answering questions from fans when the topic of weed popped up. Needless to say, the smartest man on network television didn’t disappoint.
“If you really analyze it, relative to other things that are legal, there’s no reason for it to ever have been made illegal in the system of laws,” deGrasse Tyson said in response to the online inquiry from cannabis activist Tom Angell.
The question aimed to reel in deGrasse Tyson with wording that framed marijuana around the scientist’s mentor, and legalization supporter, Carl Sagan. The author of Cosmos and host of the original television of the same name was a lifetime cannabis supporter whose advocacy has become even clearer since his death.
But while it’s no secret that Sagan had a huge influence on deGrasse Tyson’s life and scientific pursuits, we’re guessing he didn’t need any help coming to the conclusion that marijuana prohibition makes absolutely zero sense.
“Alcohol is legal and it can mess you up way more than smoking a few jays,” deGrasse Tyson added to his common sense response.
However, just because he can see the forest through the trees doesn’t mean that he’s smoking them, as the astrophysicist was happy to admit that the last time he indulged, slang like “mess you up from smoking a few jays” was entirely normal.
