Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses cannabis and Caitlyn Jenner recall candidacy on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’
Now that California Gov. Gavin Newsom officially faces a recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting a lot of phone calls.
Last night on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Schwarzenegger shared some of his thoughts on the recall election, as well as anecdotes about his upcoming show “Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten” and his friendship with renowned stoner Tommy Chong.
Schwarzenegger won the race for governor in 2003 in a recall election with more than 130 candidates, so naturally, potential candidates are reaching out for advice.
“Anyone has a chance, because I think the people are dissatisfied with what’s going on here in California and I hope that as many people as possible are jumping into the race and going for it,” said Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger acknowledged his friendship with both Caitlyn Jenner and Gov. Newsom, but stopped short of making any endorsements, citing the candidates’ experience, vision and platform as much more important than personality.
Things turned less political when Kimmel brought up Schwarzenegger’s new email newsletter, in which he’s sharing more personal anecdotes from his life, like how he recently discouraged his son from smoking cannabis.
Despite that fatherly advice, Schwarzenegger owned up his own history of cannabis use, citing a friendship with Tommy Chong which formed when the pair were both weightlifting on Venice Beach. Schwarzenegger would regularly smoke pot with Chong, then adopted the habit as part of his pre-workout routine, careful to smoke only a few hits and not a full joint.
“I started working out with a few hits before we went to the gym, and worked out this way, and it was really fantastic.”
However, in 1975, Schwarzenegger decided to finish his his college business degree and get more serious about acting, so he quit cannabis cold turkey and hasn’t smoked since, he said.
Watch the full clip below.