Kid Cudi built his early career on a stoner persona, then spent the next 15 years trying to change his relationship with weed. He announced he had quit in 2011, entered rehab in November 2024 while smoking what he says was 15 blunts a day, and told People in 2025 that he now smokes only in the evenings and on weekends. He is not a legalization campaigner and has no cannabis brand. What he says about weed today is mostly about cutting back.
Kid Cudi and cannabis at a glance
| Real name | Scott Mescudi |
|---|---|
| The persona | Called himself a lonely stoner on “Day ‘n’ Nite” (2008) |
| Weed songs | “Maui Wowie” (2008), “Hyyerr” (2009), “Marijuana” (2010, running time 4:20), “Just What I Am” (2012) |
| Quit | Announced on his blog in April 2011 |
| Rehab | November 2024, by his account after smoking 15 blunts a day |
| Now | Evenings and weekends only, he told People in August 2025 |
| 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.
The lonely stoner years
Cudi’s breakthrough single, “Day ‘n’ Nite”, introduced him in 2008 as the lonely stoner, and the image stuck. His debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009), included “Hyyerr”, and its 2010 sequel carried a track simply called “Marijuana” that runs exactly four minutes and twenty seconds. “Just What I Am” followed in 2012.
Also from 2008 is “Maui Wowie”, a mixtape track named after the Hawaiian sativa. In New York the strain itself is easy to find: Maui Wowie was on 10 of the 32 licensed dispensary menus we read on Oct 8, 2026, at $30 to $47 per eighth.
The period was darker than the songs suggested. In a 2010 Complex cover story he said he had been using cocaine to get through interviews and weed to come down. That June he was arrested in New York on charges of criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance, which police believed to be cocaine; he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
Quitting in 2011
In April 2011 Cudi told fans on his blog that he had stopped smoking weed. The reasons he gave were practical: he was 27, he had a business to run, he needed to be alert, and he was happier sober. Coming from the artist who had released a song called “Marijuana” five months earlier, it was news.
He did not stay off it for good, and he has never given a date for when he started again. In 2016 he checked himself into rehab for depression and announced it in a public letter to fans.
Rehab in 2024 and smoking less
The fullest account of his relationship with weed came in August 2025, when he published his memoir, Cudi, and gave an interview to People. He said he had entered rehab in November 2024, that by then he was smoking 15 blunts a day, and that he stopped completely for about two months. “It truly ruled my life,” he said.
He did not swear off it. He described bringing weed back on tighter terms, in the evenings and on weekends, with a single joint now lasting him most of a day, and said he was more interested in being present.
In the news: on Rolling Stone’s list of musicians who quit weed (August 2026)
That change put him in a Rolling Stone feature of Aug 19, 2026, on ten musicians who gave up weed, or tried to, alongside Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus and David Crosby. The piece traces his arc from the lonely stoner of 2008 to the first attempt in 2011, the 2024 rehab stay and his current, limited use.
There was a second, lighter headline in October 2025: “Maui Wowie”, the 2008 mixtape song, entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, at No. 71, after a TikTok trend revived it 17 years late.
The quote everyone shares is a lyric
The Kid Cudi weed “quote” that circulates most online, the one that rhymes enemy with remedy, is not something he said in an interview. It is a lyric from “Bigger Than You”, a song recorded in 2007 that surfaced online in 2011. His plainest spoken words on the subject are the ones from 2025 quoted above.
Kid Cudi and weed: FAQ
Does Kid Cudi still smoke weed?
Yes, but far less. He told People in August 2025 that after rehab in November 2024 he stopped completely for about two months and now smokes only in the evenings and on weekends.
When did Kid Cudi quit smoking weed?
He first announced he had quit in April 2011, saying he was 27, had a business to run and was happier sober. He later resumed, and went to rehab in November 2024.
How much weed did Kid Cudi smoke?
By his own account, 15 blunts a day before he entered rehab in November 2024. He told People that weed truly ruled his life at that point.
Which Kid Cudi songs are about weed?
The best known are Day ‘n’ Nite (2008), Maui Wowie (2008), Hyyerr (2009), Marijuana (2010), which runs 4 minutes 20 seconds, and Just What I Am (2012).
Is Kid Cudi a cannabis advocate?
No. We found no advocacy role and no cannabis brand. His public comments are about his own use and cutting back.
More celebrity cannabis stories
- Dave Chappelle: Half Baked, the sketches, and which of his weed quotes are real.
- Bob Marley: herb as sacrament, the London arrest and the new Marley strains.
- Barack Obama: the Choom Gang, the Cole memo and what his administration left undone.
- Willie Nelson: four arrests, the White House roof and a $15 million hemp drink.
- Bill Murray: the 1970 airport arrest on his 20th birthday, and the little he has said since.
More from Just Weed Strains
- NYC weed strains database: every flower strain we found on 32 licensed NYC dispensary menus, with shops, menu prices and THC.
- The most popular weed strains in NYC dispensaries: the 21 most stocked names, counted menu by menu.
- Weed strains that make you giggly: which names reviewers tag as giggly, and which of them NYC shops stock.
- Exotic cannabis strains: what the word means, and which of the famous names are on NYC menus.
Sources
- Rolling Stone, musicians who quit weed (Aug 19, 2026)
- People via AOL, Kid Cudi on smoking 15 blunts a day (Aug 27, 2025)
- Hypebeast, Kid Cudi quits (April 2011)
- Billboard, why Maui Wowie debuted on the Hot 100 (Oct 21, 2025)
- CBS New York, Kid Cudi pleads guilty in NYC drug case (2010)
- Wikipedia, Marijuana (Kid Cudi song)
- Hypebeast, Bigger Than You (October 2011)
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.
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.