Kevin Smith Credits Marijuana For Saving His Life

Writer, director, actor and comedian Kevin Smith credits his love of weed for saving his life. Smith, who has always been a very vocal proponent for marijuana in his movies, podcasts, and stand up specials suffered a massive heart attack back in February which could have very easily ended his life. On Tuesday, Smith stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and told the story of how he learned that he was having a heart attack and how being in a calm, relaxed state due to being high on pot helped him survive the type of attack he was experiencing which usually carries an 80% mortality rate. While he joked that he thought the heart attack symptoms that he was experiencing were the result of being a little too high and said so to his doctor, the physician surprised him by saying that having smoked marijuana more than likely helped save his life because of its calming effects.

You can watch the entire interview with Smith from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert below and keep an aye out for his Showtime special, Silent But Deadly, coming soon!

“They got me to the hospital and they wheel me into the emergency room and the whole time I’m chill. Like, the guy said, the paramedic, he goes, ‘You’re being real calm, that’s going to get you through this,’” Smith told host Stephen Colbert. “And there’s a dude behind him goes, ‘That’s what’s going to save his life.’ And I’m like, ‘What does that part [mean]?’”

“I honestly thought I was too high. I’d smoked a bunch of weed that day because I was doing the show and then I smoked a joint right before the show and then I got off stage and all of a sudden I had a heart attack,” Smith explained.

The Clerks star asked the doctor if the marijuana could have caused his health scare.

“He goes, ‘No, quite the opposite. That weed saved your life.’ And I was like, ‘Do tell! Like, what do you mean?’” Smith continued. “He said, ‘You kept calm. They told you (that) you were having a massive heart attack, and you remained calm the whole time, so that joint saved your life.’”