Comedian Tommy Chong talks benefits of legalizing marijuana

Grammy Award winning comedian Tommy Chong has spent years mocking the use of marijuana, but these days he doesn't see it as a laughing matter.

According to Phillly.com the comedian of Cheech and Chong fame spoke of the legalization of the drug as the cure for everything that's wrong in America.

"Look at the situation we're in now. Sequesters. Cuts. Everything cut across the board. Now, the government is tapped into the biggest cash crop in the world," Chong said. "There's little manufacturing cost. You don't have to do anything except watch it grow and get a couple of hippies to cut it and then put it in a bag."

The 74-year-old comedian noted that the argument supporting the medical uses of cannabis has gotten 20 states to legalize it.

"Hemp itself is going to save the world," he said.