Can pot save the economy? Tommy Chong sees green - CNET

Chong says he's glad to be done with all the "bogus stuff" he used to deal with. Not to mention, being aboveboard is good business these days.

Case in point: SMOKEmojis, Chong's own set of celebrity-inspired emojis. (Remember how Kim Kardashian's emojis took the app store by storm?) His ultimate goal, aside from advocating about pot, is to make sure it takes only a tap to get your friends together for a toke.

CNET spoke with Chong about the pot entrepreneurship scene, as well as the technology he has (and wishes he had). Edited excerpts follow.

Q: So, why do we need SMOKEmojis?
Chong: Emojis for the most part are very cheerful signs. That's how we communicated before we had the written word.

Pot's gotten a lot more mainstream. In fact, you've got a lot of folks in suits investing in it -- do you have any conces about marijuana becoming a big, regulated business?
Chong: Not at all. If the demand gets that great, then of course we need big business, because we're talking volume. It's like holding an event for 200-300 people. That's easy to do. But an event for 100,000 people -- then you have to go to big business. You have to have the parking; you have to have the staff to support that type of crowd. It's the same thing as growing marijuana. It'll be big business with a different look.

Speaking of business, you've talked about how pot could boost struggling local economies in places like Michigan. What's the potential economic impact of the marijuana industry?
Chong: Up until now, the legal money raised from pot was usually forfeiture and fines, and penalties laid on by govement and the police. Most of the money, if not all the money, went into prosecuting and investigating more pot crimes [instead of going into the economy].