Roger Daltrey is allergic to cannabis.
Roger Daltrey
The Who frontman has blamed a case of meningitis he suffered five years ago for making him develop the unusual allergy, which causes his throat to “close up” if he so much as smells a whiff of the smokable plant.
Roger spends a lot of time in California, where marijuana is now legal, and says his allergy has made his home a “nightmare”, because it seems as though everyone is enjoying the drug except for him.
He said: “Since [I had meningitis] I’ve got this terrible allergy to the smell of pot. Of all the afflictions! It’s a nightmare. My throat closes up at the smell.
“Pot is now legal in California so everybody smokes it. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun – I’d prefer if they ate it. It does the same thing, it just takes a bit longer to work.”
The 76-year-old rocker also suffers from tinnitus and dysplasia – which are abnormal cells in the vocal cords – and needs regular checks on his throat.
Speaking to the ‘How to Wow’ podcast, the ‘My Generation’ singer said of his latest performing routine: “I take a couple of antihistamines before I go on and I can get through it all right.
“There’s pot at every gig. It’s political but I’ve never understood why it’s criminalised the way it is.
“It’s crazy. You’d criminalise booze way before pot if it was down to health. All the way down the line, it doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Meanwhile, Roger recently said he thinks fame has cost him friends, as rocketing to success in the 1960s as a member of The Who made him lose touch with his old pals.
When asked what he misses most amid the coronavirus pandemic, Roger said: "Human contact. That's what I didn't like about being a celebrity.
"It kind of distanced me from my mates and everyone treated me differently immediately after I became famous, I didn't like that.
"I never wanted to be different. I like to just chat to people and be treated normally. I just miss that human contact."
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