Honoring 2 Chainz And His Marijuana Advocacy

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that 2 Chainz loves weed. The American rapper, recording artist and songwriter has quite a background with marijuana, from dealing it to being arrested for it on several occasions.

Needless to say, his run-ins with the law and personal experience with cannabis fueled his fire to continue fighting for what’s right: cannabis decriminalization and legalization across the United States.

Although we still have a ways to go, 2 Chainz is a prime example of someone with a platform using their love of weed for the greater good.

Born Tauheed K. Epps in College Park, Georgia, 2 Chainz graduated second in his class at North Clayton High School, where he also started his successful basketball career.

Although studious and athletic, 2 Chainz was dabbling in weed before most of us. In fact, at the tender age of 15, the rapper would deal marijuana around his ends and was later arrested for cocaine possession that same year. Epps later attended Alabama State University on a basketball scholarship from 1995 to 1997.

However, countless rumors had spread that 2 Chainz had landed an impressive 4.0 GPA, but he confessed to Rolling Stone that he “got into some trouble, went somewhere else, and came back. But I graduated, and that’s that. That was then.” He transferred to Virginia State University momentarily but refused to speak about why.

No matter the point in his career, from high school to the present day, 2 Chainz has remained true to the plant. His passion for cannabis and marijuana advocacy is praised today, but he wasn’t always on the right side of the feds. In fact, his January 2013 single “Feds Watching (feat. Pharell)” perhaps foreshadowed the year’s events.

As mentioned, Epps dealt weed as a teenager in high school and was convicted of felony cocaine possession when he was 15. Months before the release of his second studio album B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time, he was arrested for marijuana possession in Maryland in February 2013 on his way to a concert but was later cited and released.

That same year in June 2013, 2 Chainz was arrested again, this time on board a departing flight at LAX airport. He was arrested for possessing a controlled substance once TSA agents discovered marijuana and promethazine in his bag. He could not catch a break.

Two months later, in August 2013, 2 Chainz‘s tour bus was in Oklahoma City when they were pulled over due to a faulty taillight. Officers smelled marijuana and asserted that it was probable cause to search the bus.

After the bus driver refused to open the doors several times, the officers got a search warrant. They found marijuana remnants, prescription painkillers, two semi-automatic pistols, and a 12-gauge pump shotgun.

Legendary marijuana advocates have had their fair share of trouble with the law. After all, it’s still illegal in the United States on a federal level.

I only mention 2 Chainz‘s past legal issues with cannabis to give you an understanding of his commitment, determination, and relentlessness in the fight for legalization and how his first-hand experiences with the feds could have been avoided altogether had it been legal.

Let’s take another trip down memory lane. This time, for the better. In January 2015, two years after 2 Chainz‘s wild ride with the feds, he sat down on CNN to speak with Nancy Grace in a debate about legalizing marijuana. This may be my personal opinion, but Grace’s arguments were infuriating, and 2 Chainz did an excellent and professional job of giving her the facts respectfully.

When debating the topic, Grace states that “irresponsible child abusers” would have access to cannabis, meaning they would give it to their children and use it however they please.

2 Chainz replied, “Everybody has the ability to get their hands on pot right now whether it’s legal or not. I just feel that if you legalize this particular drug, it cuts out certain things in the criminal justice system as far as the overcrowding of prisons [and] putting it on our criminal records that prevent us from getting loans [and] getting homes.”

A steamy-eared Grace quickly argued, “If you want to qualify for a home, then why don’t you just not smoke pot?”

Of course, she was eager to share a video with 2 Chainz about a mom and her friends giving her two-year-old daughter pot.

“That’s just something that you have to govern in your own household. Everyone knows that this is obviously wrong,” replied Epps.

He later expressed his list of reasons why it should be legalized, including the anxiety relief it gives him on long flights, during shows in front of 50,000 people, and for meet and greets. For the average person, he argued that it helps with rest, sleep, nausea, and other day-to-day issues that marijuana can alleviate.

You might remember in 2016 when GQ Magazine invited 2 Chainz to smoke $500,000 worth of bongs and weed. When referencing hash oil and dabs, he expressed, “I’m tellin’ you, man, this shit makes it feel like your heart is about to explode.”

Well, it’s clear he loved that feeling. In 2018, 2 Chainz entered the legal cannabis market and launched his debut weed brand, Gas Cannabis Co.

Launched in partnership with Green Street Agency, who’s seen deals with Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, and The Game, 2 Chainz‘s weed brand met the market with powerful pre-rolls and three flower strains:

• 87 Octane
• 89 Octane
• 93 Octane

The brand, whose name stands for “Good Ass Shit,” was a long-awaited weed venture from 2 Chainz, considering his extensive past and experience with marijuana.

Today, 2 Chainz is an award-winning rapper, recording artist, and songwriter whose passion for cannabis has never dimmed. He continues fighting for legalization in every way possible, and that journey is far from over.