The actor and filmmaker has long been open about his marijuana use and how it fits into his daily routine.
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Seth Rogen has shared the only stretch in the last 14 years when he put down weed, and he says there was a serious reason behind it.
The Superbad and Pineapple Express star has been candid for years about using cannabis every day — which is legal in several U.S. states — and has joked that he has gotten high daily since he was 20.
"I equate it [smoking weed] to shoes or glasses," Rogen said in a previous podcast interview, using a simple comparison to explain how normal marijuana feels in his life.
"Are shoes like a crutch we use? Or are they things we have culturally decided make our lives easier and better? That is exactly how weed is to me."
Even so, there were three specific days in the past two decades when he chose not to use marijuana, and he says the reason was clear and compelling.
The pause happened during a trip to Singapore, where cannabis laws are among the strictest in the world and enforcement is well known.
Seth Rogen has been open about his weed usage over the years
Chad Salvador/Variety via Getty Images
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Talking to Howard Stern about visiting the Southeast Asian city-state back in 2011, Rogen said: "They will literally f**king kill you if you smoke weed in that country."
"They put a little thing in your passport when you arrive, that says: 'If we find drugs on you, we will execute you'."
"So that was a scary walk through the airport in Singapore."
Stern noted that the possibility of execution is a strong deterrent, and Rogen responded with dark humor: "Getting killed is a good deterrent. If you ever have a drug problem, go to Singapore."
Stern also asked whether he felt any withdrawals during those 72 hours, and Rogen joked that he had other ways to pass the time and change how he felt.
"Luckily you can just drink yourself into oblivion in Singapore. They don't give a sh*t about that," he added.
What are the laws regarding drugs in Singapore?
Rogen wasn’t exaggerating. Singapore’s drug laws are famously tough, and violations are handled with harsh penalties.
By law, cannabis use is illegal for both recreational and medical purposes, and authorities enforce those rules aggressively.
Anyone caught with marijuana or testing positive for use can face up to ten years in prison, a substantial fine, caning, or a combination of those penalties, depending on the case.
Penalties escalate for trafficking, importing, or exporting controlled drugs — including marijuana — and in some cases the offense can carry the death penalty.
Singapore is one of 32 countries that use execution for certain drug crimes, alongside nations such as China, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Outside Singapore, Rogen has made it clear he still enjoys getting high, and at 43 he previously said that he is “a little stoned all the time,” sticking with a routine that he has followed for years.