Remember when alt-country hero Ryan Adams was tweeting The Cannabist about, among other things, writing for the site and Egyptian pyramids? We do. The Cannabist will soon announce its new guest columnist. Will it be Ryan Adams, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Maher, Chelsea Handler or somebody else? And for what it's worth, per Adams' above question, Cannabist editor Ricardo Baca (@bruvs on Twitter) did go inside the great pyramid - long live Slayer. (Twitter)

Malkin, Rogen, Whoopi, Gupta, Maher: Guess who will be our new columnist

As the The Cannabist’s editor, I’m incredibly proud of our many contributors — our colleagues at The Denver Post, our content-sharing partners and our many freelancers.

And now we’re almost ready to announce our newest contributor, and this one has star power to spare. (No, it’s not Stephen Colbert.)

UPDATE: On April 17, our new columnist debuted with a love story of sorts. Who is it? Click through.

But before we announce our new columnist — who will be writing columns on marijuana culture for The Cannabist on a regular basis — we thought we’d first see if you, dear reader, can guess who it is. We’re very proud to be working with this individual, and we can’t wait to share his or her columns with you and the rest of the world.


The Cannabist is now hiring: We’re hiring a freelance marijuana critic. See the requirements and 4/20 deadline here.


So have a look at these 10 possible candidates, all of whom make sense given the subject matter, and let us know in the comments (or via #cannabistco on Twitter) who you think got the job — or if we should reach out to anybody else.

Susan Sarandon (Dan Steinberg, Invision/AP)
Susan Sarandon (Dan Steinberg, Invision/AP)

Susan Sarandon: The super-cool actress made even more fans when she admitted to being stoned at most of the Hollywood awards shows she’s attended over the last decade. She’s outspoken and cool under pressure, and she’s also an incredibly intelligent individual.

Bill Maher: The cultural comedian and “Real Time” host is noted for his pro-pot stance and recently told Seth MacFarlane (the “Family Guy” gent who also produced Fox’s “Cosmos”): “I watched ‘Cosmos’ twice: Once baked, once straight.”

Michelle Malkin: The conservative author and columnist is best known for her hours spent on Fox News, but she surprised many fans and haters alike when she came out in very vocal support of medical (and recreational) marijuana. “Our stash included 10 pre-rolled joints, a ‘vape pen’ and two containers of cheddar cheese-flavored marijuana crackers (they were out of brownies),” she wrote in a recent column about obtaining meds for her mother-in-law. “So far, just one cracker a day is yielding health benefits.”

Sanjay Gupta (Diane Bondareff, AP)
Sanjay Gupta (Diane Bondareff, AP)

Sanjay Gupta: The practicing neurosurgeon and CNN’s chief medical correspondent has spent the better part of a year “apologizing for having not dug deeply into the beneficial effects of this plant and for writing articles dismissing its potential. I apologized for my own role in previously misleading people, and I feel very badly that people have suffered for too long, unable to obtain the legitimate medicine that may have helped them.” With “Weed2,” a second CNN documentary based on marijuana, Gupta said, “I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down.” Those are bold words, quite intentionally.

Whoopi Goldberg: The actress, comedian and host of TV’s “The View” has a long history of talking publicly about marijuana. “Even the mouse knows,” she said on a recent show, referencing ABC parent Disney. Many activists claim that marijuana being a part of the national conversation has been a massive push for legalization efforts; If that’s true, Goldberg’s daytime musings on one of the most perennially popular shows on television certainly deserves some credit. To boot: She was excited and gracious to host me on “The View” a few months back.

Seth Rogen: This popular actor is many things, including “a Hollywood star who was brave enough to come out of the closet as a stoner,” according to chat show host Andy Cohen, who mans Bravo’s ever-popular “Watch What Happens Live.” But of Rogen’s famous friends and costars, who’s he gotten high with? The answers might surprise you.

Chelsea Handler (Dan Steinberg, Invision/AP)
Chelsea Handler (Dan Steinberg, Invision/AP)

Chelsea Handler: Not everybody has their own YouTube of them getting blazed with Snoop. But comedian/host Handler does. And that’s not all, as Handler has been one of marijuana’s most vocal advocates in recent years.

Ryan Adams: The alt-country impresario and wildman was talking about his sobriety with Salon in 2011 when he talked about living in California: “We stay close to the green here. You can take that as you like. When I quit drinking and doing drugs and all that stuff, I never cut out weed from my life. But I’m also not like a stoner.” When I announced our search for weed critics in December 2013, Adams responded via Twitter enthusiastically: “I am available and absolutely love Denver” (see above). Sounds like a natural fit!

Miley Cyrus: Can you imagine? Miley the guest columnist? Who wouldn’t be curious about the stream-of-consciousness ramblings from the young, brash and often stoned Cyrus — a mash-up of her manic Twitter presence and her outspoken concert persona? I’m in — a million times over, I’m in.

Doug Benson (Doug Benson)
Doug Benson (Doug Benson)

Doug Benson: Comedy’s first man of weed, the man behind “Super High Me” and “The Marijuanalogs” and the creator of #sideboobsunday, Benson is a force to be reckoned with. He’s a literate, funny, busy stoner — proof that stoners, too, can be contributing members to society. Remember when he told The Cannabist: “Stand-up is fun, smoking pot is fun. Fun plus fun equals bigger fun”? We sure do.