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One of the many fascinating elements of the Hobbit community within J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and the movies it inspired, is that of smoking what they call 'pipeweed.' Although Tolkein himself compared it more to tobacco than cannabis, Pipe-Weed was prevalant across Middle-Earth - even if called by different names by the Dúnedain (Sweet Galenas), Gondor (Westman's-weed).

So when Popverse had the chance to talk to cast members from Lord of the Rings for Saturday's 'Walking to Mordor with the Cast of the Lord of the Rings' panel at Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con 2024, we had to ask in this era of legal cannabis: Should there be a Pipe-Weed branded weed strain here in the real world?

"Don't you think?" Frodo Baggins actor Elijah Wood replies to Popverse's Ashley V. Robinson. "I mean, it's kind of wild. There should be... I mean... Old Toby?"

In the books, Old Toby is a Shire variety of Pipe-Weed favorited by Bilbo Baggins.

Wood and co-star Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee, both brought up Longbottom Leaf, another popular strain for Hobbits.

"I'm pretty sure the Lord of the Rings herbal supplements existed before a lot of the present iterations, so they owe a debt of gratitude," says Astin.

"An officially licensed weed strain would be great," Wood adds, with Astin chiming in about "Merry and Pippin edibles."

Wood even takes it further, conjuring up the idea of "Hobbit mushrooms as well."

"You know, psychedelics are all over the Shire."

You can watch Popverse's entire conversation with Wood, Astin, and John Rhys-Davies exclusively here on Popverse.

Whether you're Shirefolk, Elven, Dwarven, or something else, there's a good reason to love Lord of the Rings. We do! With that in mind, we have a dragon's horde of goodies for you from a Lord of the Rings reading guide, a Lord of the Rings watch guide, details on the upcoming animated film Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim, a full the Lord of the Rings reunion panel you can watch, how the OG Hobbit actors stay in touch every day on a groupchat, and the true message of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, according to Gimli himself - John Rhys-Davies.