W5's Kevin Newman sits down with comedian Tommy Chong on the legalization of cannabis in Canada and how pot culture shaped his life.  With Canada on the cusp of legalization, Chong’s life work as the “Grandfather of Pot” is almost done.

He was born on May 24, 1938 in Edmonton, Alberta, to a hard-working Chinese immigrant father and Scottish-Irish mother. Growing up under-privileged in Alberta in the '40s as a Chinese-Caucasian child was not easy. Chong says he was constantly teased and tormented by his peers because he was different.

In the early 1960s, Chong moved to Vancouver where he met his future comedy partner Cheech Marin. They reached the biggest audience yet in 1978 with the release of their first feature Hollywood film, “Up in Smoke” — a movie that many credit with establishing the ‘stoner’ comedy genre.

It has been 40 years since “Up in Smoke” was released and Chong has maintained his advocacy for pot.