You likely know actor and filmmaker Kevin Smith from his role as Silent Bob in the classic stoner comedy Jay and Silent Bob.

Although he played a stoner in countless movies and Jay and Silent Bob reboots, Smith didn’t start smoking weed until he was 38. A late bloomer indeed, Smith used cannabis as a means of productivity after learning the ways from another fellow celebrity stoner, none other than Seth Rogen.

Today, we’re honoring all the laughs Kevin Smith has given the cannabis community. Not to mention his weed brand, Jay and Silent Bob. Read on to learn more about Kevin Smith, his functional stoner days, and why he recently chose to put weed on the back burner.

Kevin Patrick Smith is a man stoners know very well. For nearly 3 decades, Smith has dominated stoner comedy with podcasts, movies, comic books, and now his own weed brand.

The American filmmaker, actor, comic book writer, and comedian first made waves on the scene with the 1994 comedy Clerks, which brought the stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob to life. Having written, directed, and co-produced the movie (not to mention co-starring in it), Smith and his team knew they were on to something.

A few years down the line, the Jay and Silent Bob characters became a coveted piece of stoner culture, featuring in Smith’s movies, including:

• Mallrats
• Chasing Amy
• Dogma
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
• Clerks II
• Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
• Clerks III

Does it surprise you that Seth Rogen turned Kevin Smith onto cannabis? It all started on the last day of filming for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, a 2008 film that didn’t perform so well at the box office.

Regardless, Rogen and Smith working together prompted the latter to start using cannabis at 38 years old. However, Smith’s cannabis use isn’t like your typical laidback stoner’s consumption. He used weed as a means of productivity, ensuring that every time he smokes, he has something to do, be it editing, writing a movie, doing a podcast, or whatever keeps him busy.

Interestingly, Smith has opened up about growing up in the “Just Say No” era enforced by the U.S. government. He thought if he started smoking weed, his life would go to shit. However, after seeing the functional stoner ways of Seth Rogen, Smith felt inspired to do the same.

He gradually told the world about his newfound interest in smoking pot and using it for productivity. In fact, smoking weed made him rewatch his own stoner movies, helping him realize why they’re so popular in the first place.

As mentioned, Kevin Smith also has his own cannabis brand named after his praised movie characters with Jason Mewes. Jay and Silent Bob’s weed brand has top-shelf flower infused with distillate and powerful pre-rolls across Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid options.

Although he has his own weed brand, it looks like Kevin Smith is putting weed on the back burner. In 2018 he suffered a massive heart attack, prompting him to take control of his life, health, and general well-being. He became vegan and lost over 100 pounds in the process.

More recently, Smith shared that he quit using cannabis. He writes in the caption for an Instagram post:

“Today marks my 5th week without weed. I feel less numb and more present than I have in 10 years. No judgment on my green friends, but this is how I want to live from now on. I weighed 285 pounds the night of my widow maker heart attack – 45 lbs down from my all-time high of 330 lbs. Today, I weigh 180 – my adult thinnest. Change is possible. If you’re green, you’re growing. If you’re ripe, you’re rotting. And I’m done being rotten. Every day is a school day. And I’m willing to learn. Memento Mori.”

Well, Kevin, it was a good run. Thank you for the movies, unforgettable memories, laughs, and of course, dank ass weed. Here’s to Kevin Smith changing his life for the better.