Herbal discourse

>> The weed-fiend confessions of the Marijuana-logues

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

It takes strong men to admit they have a problem, and smart men to make a comedy stage show out of it. Doug Benson, Tony Camin and Arj Barker--three L.A. comedians with spots on all the late-nite talk shows between them--bring us the Marijuana-logues, meditations on the agony and the ecstasy of habitual toking. Benson, sounding reasonably lucid and articulate, gave the Mirror' the 411 on the 420 as they see it.

Mirror: So what are the Marijuana-logues are all about?

Doug Benson: Basically, it's a blatant attempt to cash in on the success of the Vagina Monologues. It follows the same format--it's the three of us telling a series of stories and anecdotes about marijuana, but they're all based on either personal experiences or stories that we've been told by other people. We take turns--it's not like three long monologues, it jumps around between the three of us, and then pieces where we interact.

M: What kind of stories do you tell?

DB: It's tales of use and abuse, and fairly honest. All three of us have a problem, so we said, Why not turn it into a show? It doesn't necessarily glorify drug use, because many of the stories are quite embarrassing. We just want people to either laugh with us or at us, it doesn't really matter which.

The nightmare of addiction

M: I note your use of the terms "problems" of "abuse." Can one be a pot addict?

DB: It's sort of covered in the show that as drugs go, it's fairly benign. It can certainly take over your life, but at the same time, studies have shown that someone who's depressed may use pot to make themself feel better. Ultimately, though, they'll still be depressed. It just depends on what place you're at in your life. I've gone for long periods of time without smoking pot, and I feel like, if I wasn't in show business, I could quit tomorrow--because I might have to. I don't think it's like alcohol or even caffeine as far as the level of addiction goes. I know people who can't function without coffee, while I can go weeks without smoking pot. I try not to, but I can.

M: There is that aspect of people for whom pot is an end, not a means. It's tragic, but I would guess also a good source of comedy.

DB: Absolutely. Pot smoking is very ritualistic, and actually, at one point in the show, we talk about a Web site we found where a guy actually went through the trouble of listing all the rules of pot etiquette--exactly how you're supposed to behave and interact with other pot smokers. He's dead serious about it, though we make fun of it, but it is a very ritualized, social drug.

Euphoranoia attack

M: There's the obvious doofus factor, which has people sitting there grinning like monkeys, thinking that Rodney Dangerfield's Back to School constitutes good cinema. At the same time, in the grand tradition of absinthe and whatever, it can be a very productive creative tool.

DB: Absolutely, and we cover all that in the show too. At one point, Tony says, "Pot could have serious side effects--you could end up renting Miss Congeniality." But then, on the other hand, sometimes when you get high, you get very focused. I do a lot of comedy writing when I'm high. A lot of times, you look at it the next day and go, "What was I thinking?" Other times, though, you can actually come up with some pretty good stuff. It's wierd. Obviously, it works differently for everyone. My friends who don't smoke pot generally say it's because it makes them paranoid and crazy. It seems like you fall in one of two camps. Either you're paranoid or you're euphoric, focused and happy--and appreciating infomercials more.

M: What kind of crowds have you been getting for this? Collegiate stoners right down the line?

DB: It's interesting. People who enjoy smoking pot see the title and think, that's something I'd like, and maybe even get high before the show. So you get some people laughing a little too hard or giggling to themselves. But a lot of people have come out because the premise is interesting, from the point of view of not being a pot smoker and finding out just what the big deal is and, as I said before, to laugh at us. Even though you don't see it much in mainstream media, people enjoy characters who are stoned and not too bright.

At the Centaur Theatre on Thursday, July 19 and Saturday, July 21 at 7pm, on Friday, July 20 at 9:30pm and Sunday, July 22 at 3pm, $15; info: 790-haha