Whoopi Goldberg Calls Cannabis ‘Greatest Medicine on the Planet’ Amid New Brand Launch

Whoopi Goldberg’s latest business venture in the cannabis industry is one that has a very personal backstory. The View cohost will launch her cannabis brand, Emma & Clyde, on July 20 in select stores.

“Cannabis is probably the greatest medicine on the planet that everybody can have,” Whoopi, 68, told Forbes on Wednesday, June 26. “For people like me, it was always used to stop the [menstrual] cramps – and the side hustle of that is that it was fun, it made you laugh and stuff.”

She opened up about deciding to name the brand Emma & Clyde, after her late mom, Emma Harris, and brother Clyde K. Johnson.

“Emma & Clyde is named after my family because my mother used cannabis for medicinal purposes. And my brother liked the recreational. They are two people that represent weed as it stands in the real world,” the Sister Act star told the outlet.

The EGOT winner also recalled the days where she used to smoke with her brother when it was still taboo.

“My brother and I used to smoke in the days when it was just something that you could do under the tree in the backyard when nobody could see you,” Whoopi said. “And I know that he would love this idea that you can go and get what you need medicinally. You can go and get what you need recreationally.”

This hasn’t been her only big project in the past few months. In May, Whoopi released her latest memoir, Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me. In the book, the EGOT winner, who is a mom to daughter Alex Martin, opened up about experiencing grief and finding her footing in life before achieving Hollywood prowess.

“I was insanely lucky. I was really lucky that I was my mother’s child because I was the correct child for her to have,” Whoopi reflected on her upbringing amid the book’s release in May. “Both my brother and I, we were just odd. We liked different stuff. We were open to many, many things. You know, you grew up here in New York City, and you had access to lots of things. And so, my mother’s attitude was, you’re in a place where you can do and see just about anything. So, what do you want to do? Who are you? Who do you think you are? I just always felt like I was quite lucky to have her.”

While the book was promoted on The View and spoken about on the show’s “Behind the Table” podcast, sources told Closer that the TV personality was “devastated” by sales.

“Despite a whirlwind of publicity, the book has shockingly landed at number 800 on the bestseller list after just a few weeks,” the insider said.

“Whoopi is devastated by the flop, questioning how such a high-profile release could fall so flat,” the source added. “She thought she’d be as successful as Prince Harry and Britney Spears and even hoped it would be turned into a movie — but that’s unlikely to happen after such disappointing sales!”