By Andy Wagner

Earlier this year, actor-writer-director-comedian Kevin Smith suffered a massive heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital, where he had surgery to clear 100% blockage of his LAD artery. This kind of heart attack is commonly referred to as the “Widowmaker,” because most people don’t survive it. Smith, however, was awake and alert throughout the operation not to mention very chatty.

How did Smith make it through his ordeal so well?

“…I was blazed as f—k the day I had the heart attack,” Smith told Us Weekly. Once the dust settled and he was able to talk to his doctor, Smith confessed he’d smoked cannabis two hours prior to his heart attack and asked if it contributed to the event.

His doctor’s answer surprised him. His cardiologist and general physician both credited his cannabis use with keeping him calm throughout the ordeal. When a doctor tells someone they’re having a heart attack, they’re already stressed out, so hearing you’re having a heart attack simply compounds their stress. When Smith’s doctor gave him the dire news, Smith remained “steady as a table” throughout.

Smith told Today:

“[The doctor] told me later on ‘You’re very chatty.’ He’s like, ‘You wanted to know everything. You were singing a song — Degrassi. And I was singing the theme song to Degrassi because it’s very hopeful.”

“I didn’t know until I was in the operating room that I had a heart attack.” –@ThatKevinSmith pic.twitter.com/WxQ404qe30

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 23, 2018

According to Men’s Journal, even the EMT’s who rushed the Hemp Knight to the hospital were surprised at how calm he was:

“The paramedic, he goes, ‘You’re being real calm—that’s going to get you through this,’” Smith recalls. “And there was a dude behind him who goes, ‘That’s what’s going to save his life.’”

A bong hit a day keeps the doctor away?

There is currently no research that supports cannabis as a way to avoid or treat a heart attack. Also, inhaling any sort of smoke, tobacco or otherwise, produces carbon monoxide, which affects our ability to breathe. Smith’s doctors credit his cannabis use with keeping him calm, which is what helped not make his heart attack worse. Doctors still recommend a low-dose aspirin regimen as a preventive method for heart attacks.

Silent Bob speaks out for cannabis

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhuLRvxAh2D/

Since his heart attack, Smith has been making healthier choices in his life. He’s dropped 85 pounds recently, cut sugar from his diet, and has become a spokesperson for Weight Watchers. Smith has always been a vocal supporter of cannabis throughout his career (he’s the mind behind Bluntman and Chronic, after all). Now that he’s doing the talk show circuit, he’s not shy about telling the universe about how he feels cannabis helped him.

Research, research, research

We’re all painfully aware that little research has been done by the FDA to explore cannabis’ many potential health benefits. With public figures like Kevin Smith and Cynthia Nixon adding their loud voices to the cannabis cause, more doctors are taking notice. Did cannabis save Smith’s life? Maybe. His doctors seem to think it had a lot to do with it. Perhaps soon, with more and more politicians changing their minds about cannabis (we see you, Diane Feinstein), we could see more extensive research in the near future. In the meantime, we’re just happy Kevin Smith is still here to make movies we enjoy. Even Jersey Girl.

Snootchie bootchies!