[LowFalutin]

(time to harvest dem trees)

from https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/201...h_vs_evil.html

Bruce Campbell, of 'Ash vs Evil Dead,' applauds Oregon legal marijuana
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.: Bruce Campbell is used to being treated like a conquering hero when he appears at fan conventions. As Ash Williams in the "Evil Dead" movies, Campbell has won a passionately loyal fan base, who adore Ash's demon-killing skills, and Campbell's flamboyant persona, which is equal parts larger-than-life swagger and Looney Tunes humor.

Campbell is currently riding the wave of a fresh burst of fan enthusiasm, pegged to "Ash vs Evil Dead." The new horror series, which debuts on Starz on Oct. 31, features Campbell again playing the role he made famous in "The Evil Dead," "Evil Dead II" and "Army of Darkness."

Before taking the stage here at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, where he joined his costar Lucy Lawless ("Xena: Warrior Princess") and old friend and fellow Michigan native Sam Raimi (director of the "Evil Dead" movies), Campbell sat down for an interview.

As an Oregon resident, Campbell was quick to give Oregon a shout-out: "I miss it bad," he said, though he certainly looked chipper, resplendent in a white jacket, with his dark brown hair neatly combed.

Campbell and his family bought property in Southern Oregon in 1998. "We have a little place in Ashland," he said, "and a place out in the boonies in the Applegate (valley.)"

It didn't take long for Campbell to fasten on something else he really likes about Oregon, namely, the recent vote legalizing recreational marijuana use.

"It about (bleeping) time," Campbell said. "Oregon now treats you like an adult. If you can buy alcohol, you should be able to buy marijuana. I have not seen a recorded overdose yet of marijuana, yet college kids are dying by the dozens every single weekend with alcohol. So give me a break."

Warming to the topic, Campbell continued, "So finally, Oregon got it together. And what's up with California? C'mon, it should be leading the charge. Colorado did it before. What they did is they made it like beer. You can't have it in your car, it can't be an open container, you've got to be 21. It has to have rules. And you have to tax the living crap out of it. The taxes the state is going to get from that are going to be ridiculous, because it's not on the black market anymore. You've got to buy it, in a transaction, and here's my tax. It's like wine or beer or liquor. Hit it with the sin tax, and then it'll never go away."

Campbell is so high on legal marijuana that he's got a cover photo shoot with High Times magazine coming. "I wanted to do it on my property," he says," but the timing didn't work."

Living in Southern Oregon, which has a long history as an illegal marijuana-growing locale, has given Campbell some additional insights.

"My valley is where they train federal officers to identify grow operations from the air," he says, "because there are so many."

A few years back, Campbell had some first-hand experience with overhead surveillance.

"Sheriffs' helicopters hovered over my property and counted my plants," he says. "But my paperwork was in order. I wasn't about to dance around with that. The thing turned and went away, and never came back. I'm like, God bless America."

Before recreational marijuana was legal in Oregon, Campbell used it for medicinal purposes. He doesn't grow it on his property anymore, though.

"You've got to jump through hoops" to get medical marijuana approval, Campbell says. "Thankfully, I've been injured in movies so many times I have a long litany of things I can say I need it for. It's medicinal, 100 percent. It's actually the only medicine in my cabinet. I'm 57, and I take no prescription medications whatsoever."

The medical benefits of marijuana are real, says Campbell. "You don't think about the pain. The pain goes away because you're thinking about other stuff. My brain gets engaged. I don't want the zombie weed. I'm a functional stoner. I have stuff to do. And I don't do it when I work. I don't drink when I work, I don't smoke when I work. I work very level-headed. On a TV show like this, it's the only way to get through."

But when he's off the clock, "that's my time. People have this image of stoners being non-productive. I directed this movie a couple of years ago called 'My Name is Bruce.' I shot it on my property." He was stumped for a while, he recalls, over how to shoot a complicated sequence. "I thought, there's got to be a better way. Sitting on my back deck, I rolled one up, and smoked it up and I got the answer: I'm going to do it in one shot. I don't know if I would've thought of that if I hadn't been stoned."

Marijuana is still misunderstood in some quarters, Campbell says. "You don't hear about guys smoking weed and getting in bar fights." The worst that might happen when you smoke weed, he says, is "you wake up in the morning and your Oreos are gone. And your lungs hurt a little bit."

But marijuana is "not for everybody," Campbell says. "I've had the drug talk with my two kids. I told them, stay away from pharmaceuticals. You talk about 'E,' or this or that, and you don't know where that comes from, or what it's been cut with. If you see something God put on this planet, that's what you choose."

Campbell's kids are adults now, he adds. His 31-year-old-year-old daughter just gave birth to a daughter, making Campbell a grandfather. And his son is 28.

"I got that done early," he says of having kids. "I'm glad. I'm so busy now, I don't want to be chasing rug rats around. We're done shooting 'Ash vs Evil Dead,' which was its own four months of intensity. Now, it's sales time. I'm going to five conventions in five cities, and shouting from the highest hill."

Campbell has been happy at the enthusiastic reception the trailer for "Ash vs Evil Dead" has received from fans after it was released online.

Starz is the right home for "Ash vs Evil Dead," Campbell adds. "You can do anything. Look, it's not like our goal is to wake up in the morning, and figure out how to gross people out. Horror is horror. These demons are very nasty, very vicious, very bloodthirsty. So bad things are going to happen."

"Ash vs Evil Dead" premieres on Starz on Oct. 31.

-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com
503-221-8227
@Kristiturnquist

[Lester Beans]

Nice! The guy is hilarious and the movies are cult classics. I would be very surprised if he didn't puff lol.

[Mikell]

Is there anything Campbell can't do?

[shithawk420]

Thats awesome!im looking forward to an Evil Dead series.i just hope they stay true to the original movies.love that cheezy humor."Hail to the king baby!"

[Dr.King]

Originally Posted by shithawk420

Thats awesome!im looking forward to an Evil Dead series.i just hope they stay true to the original movies.love that cheezy humor."Hail to the king baby!"

The Evil Dead series on Starz was insane. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are crazy when it comes to coming up with great showings. The series is without a doubt a 10 for me imo and they renewed it for another season. I can't wait!

[_tessarecting]

Evil dead the musical was epic