Does Macklemore Smoke Weed?

If you’ve made your way to this page, you’re probably wondering this: does Macklemore smoke weed? While the rapper of “Same Love” fame has struggled with drugs, does this mean that he doesn’t occasionally toke? Read below to find out!

Who is Macklemore?

Born Benjamin Hammon Haggerty on June 13, 1989, in Kent, Washington, Macklemore began rapping under his stage name (which he came up with for a high school homework assignment) back in the early aughts. A long-time collaborator with producer Ryan Lewis (whose projects are stylized as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis), this four-time Grammy Award-winner sprung to fame in 2012 with the release of their album The Heist. Most notably, The Heist included “Same Love,” a track that became a pro-LGBT and equality marriage anthem.

In July 2017, Macklemore released “Glorious,” his new single from his as-of-yet-untitled upcoming album. Featuring artist Skylar Grey, the project is his first solo album in 12 years, made without any input by Lewis.

But back to the question at hand: does Macklemore smoke weed? Let’s investigate.

Puff or Pass?

While Macklemore didn’t make it on our list of rappers who don’t smoke weed, he’s been outspoken in regards to how he sees weed as a tool for relapsing into addiction, which the star struggled with years ago. Despite the fact that weed is definitively not a gateway drug, Macklemore told Complex Magazine two years ago that his use of weed paired with his abuse of sleeping pills—and from there, he went off the rails.

“I held it together for a while,” he disclosed in an interview. “But, eventually, I stopped going to my 12-step meetings.”

Citing the pressure of fame as the catalyst for his relapse, he added, “All the clichés, man—like not being able to walk around, having no privacy, and from this TV appearance to this TV appearance, and the criticism, and the lack of connection, and the lack of meetings—all of that put into one pie was just…I just wanted to escape.”

Macklemore cleaned up his act after he found out that his wife Tricia Davis was pregnant with his child.

In 2015, Macklemore was featured on the track “Tommy Chong” by the American hip hop outfit Blue Scholars. Named after one-half of the cannabis comedian duo Cheech & Chong, the song goes into the history of the cannabis industry and trade. “Tommy Chong” also served as a platform for Macklemore to voice his own views on weed, legalization, and decriminalization.

“I’m not against legalization, not at all,” Macklemore rapped on the track. “I’m against glorification, you are not Snoop Dogg/moderation, that’s the key/but the door’s unlocked/it’s up to you how you use it.”

Final Hit: Does Macklemore Smoke Weed?

So, does Macklemore smoke weed? The answer is probably not—or not anymore, at least. But at least we’ll always have “Tommy Chong.”