Bill Murray and Cannabis: The 1970 Arrest and What He Said

Bill Murray’s documented history with cannabis is short and specific. On Sept 21, 1970, his 20th birthday, he was arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare airport with about 10 pounds of marijuana in his luggage, an episode that ended his time as a pre-med student and, indirectly, pushed him toward comedy. Since then the record consists of a famous monologue in Caddyshack and one answer in a 2014 Reddit Q&A, in which he criticized the drug war. He has no cannabis brand and has never campaigned on the issue.

Bill Murray and cannabis at a glance

The arrest	Sept 21, 1970, O’Hare airport, Chicago, on his 20th birthday
What he was carrying	Five bricks of marijuana, about 10 pounds, valued at the time at $20,000
Outcome	Pleaded guilty to possession; five years of probation. He left Regis University, where he was a pre-med student
On screen	Carl Spackler’s grass speech in Caddyshack (1980); Hunter S. Thompson in Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)
On the law	In a 2014 Reddit Q&A he called the drug war a failure
Cannabis business or advocacy	None that we could find

Every item on this page is taken from the public record and linked in the sources below. Page updated Oct 10, 2026.

Table of Contents

The birthday arrest at O’Hare

In September 1970 Murray was a student at Regis, a Jesuit college in Denver, and was flying back from Chicago. According to court records published by The Smoking Gun, he joked that he had two bombs in his luggage. A ticket agent alerted federal marshals, who searched his bags and found something else: five bricks of marijuana, roughly 10 pounds, with a value then put at $20,000.

It was his 20th birthday. He pleaded guilty to possession and was given five years of probation. He did not go back to Regis, returned to the Chicago area and drifted into the Second City improv scene, where his older brother Brian was already working. Regis gave him an honorary doctorate in 2007.

Details vary between retellings. Some say he was expelled, though better-sourced accounts say he dropped out, and the number of bricks changes from story to story. The court documents are the safest guide.

Caddyshack and the grass you can smoke

The role most associated with Murray and weed is Carl Spackler, the groundskeeper in Caddyshack (1980). In one scene Carl shows off a turf of his own invention, a cross of Kentucky bluegrass, bent grass and northern California sinsemilla, and explains its advantage: you can play 36 holes on it and then smoke it.

The same year he played Hunter S. Thompson in Where the Buffalo Roam, a film whose plot includes Thompson’s attorney defending young people charged with marijuana possession. Chevy Chase, his Caddyshack co-star, later told a story about Murray turning up at his house at 3 a.m. in 1979 in search of weed.

What he has said about marijuana laws

Murray rarely discusses the subject, which is why one answer from January 2014 still gets quoted. In a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session he was asked about recreational marijuana, and he replied at length: the war on drugs had failed, people were being jailed for what amounted to self-medication, and the states then legalizing were showing that the danger had been exaggerated. “I think the terror of marijuana was probably overstated,” he wrote.

That is the whole of his public position. We found no later statement, no endorsement and no business interest.

In the news: the arrest, retold at 76 (September 2026)

Murray turned 76 on Sept 21, 2026, which was also the 56th anniversary of the arrest, and the story made the birthday coverage again. A profile published that day by the entertainment site EarlyGame (in German) recounts how he was stopped at the Chicago airport on his 20th birthday after cannabis was found in his luggage, received probation and left college, and treats the setback as the accident that sent him toward comedy. A Hollywood history podcast devoted an episode to the same story in April 2026.

We did not find any new statement from Murray himself about cannabis in the past year.

What is not on the record

A cannabis brand or endorsement. None exists. Leafly’s profile of him lists none either.
Activism. One answer in a 2014 Q&A is the full extent of it.
Claims about cannabis and his health, creativity or film choices. He has not made any. Pages that describe how weed “shaped his roles” are guessing.

Bill Murray and cannabis: FAQ

Was Bill Murray arrested for marijuana?

Yes. On Sept 21, 1970, his 20th birthday, he was arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare airport with about 10 pounds of marijuana in his luggage. He pleaded guilty to possession and received five years of probation.

How was Bill Murray caught?

According to court records, he joked that he had two bombs in his luggage. A ticket agent alerted federal marshals, who searched his bags and found five bricks of marijuana.

What has Bill Murray said about marijuana?

In a January 2014 Reddit Q&A he said the war on drugs had failed and that the danger of marijuana had probably been overstated. We found no later public statement.

What does Carl Spackler say about his grass in Caddyshack?

Carl describes a hybrid of Kentucky bluegrass, bent grass and northern California sinsemilla, and says you can play 36 holes on it and then smoke it.

Does Bill Murray have a cannabis brand?

No. We found no cannabis company, product or endorsement connected to him.

Sources

For adults 21 and over. This page reports what people have said and done on the public record; it is not medical or legal advice. Our New York cannabis guide covers the current rules in New York.

Just Weed Strains Staff

The Just Weed Strains editorial team writes our strain profiles and consumer guides. Strain profiles summarize publicly available information, including breeder and dispensary descriptions. Effects vary from person to person, and nothing on this site is medical advice.

Bill Murray and Cannabis: The 1970 Arrest and What He Has Said