Cannabis activist Jim Belushi has a birthday soon on June 15

Cannabis activist Jim Belushi has a birthday soon on June 15

By Lynda Carson - May 16, 2024

Oakland, CA - Oakland has become well known locally and across the nation for its numerous cannabis dispensaries.

On May 10, 2021, cannabis activist and actor Jim Belushi wrote, “To the people just finding out I became a cannabis farmer, I have this to say - if my brother John was a pothead, he’d still be with us today. I got into cannabis because I believe in the medicine, and I believe it can help me heal my traumas. That’s the “mission from God.”

As a cannabis activist, Jim Belushi has become well known across the nation, and around the world.

Reportedly, recently the Biden administration announced plans to reclassify Marijuana, a.k.a. cannabis, pot, weed, reefer, hemp, Mary Jane, etc…. However, it appears that they are a bit late with their plans, and reportedly it is not good enough to really help out the legal growers / sellers in the marijuana industry, but apparently the marijuana industry will get a tax break.

Born James Adam Belushi, on June 15, 1954, Jim Belushi used to reside in Wheaton, Illinois, with his family, and his older brother “actor John Belushi.” They both went to school at Central High School in Wheaton, and afterwards they both went to a nearby small local community college called the College of DuPage (COD) near Wheaton, where they joined a drama class before they found their war to the Second City Theatre on Welles Street, in Old Town Chicago, near Pipers Alley.

Years ago in the late 60s, and possibly the early 70s, while residing in Wheaton, the Belushi brothers could be found at times hanging out at the “Lord & Lady Q Billiards,” in downtown Wheaton, affectionately known as “‘the pool hall.” The local teens and others used to go there to score, find the next party, and play pool or ping pong, while listening to the latest top 100 hits on the juke box. At times, before entering the pool hall, John Belushi could be seen parking his motorcycle in front of the pool hall, before he would head inside to join the crowd looking for a good time.

Wheaton was a dry town at the time, and alcohol was illegal. However, there were plenty of drugs to be found, including cannabis (pot) for those in need, and LSD (Acid), which may have still been legal until 1967, if I recall.

Indeed, not only was Wheaton a dry town years ago when the Belushi brothers were there, but it was very conservative, with Wheaton College, and Billy Graham being very active there. Now there may, or may not be a bunch of fascist Trump supporters at Wheaton College, but I am not certain.

Years ago, Wheaton was also the same small town where famed reporter Bob Woodward used to reside in the home owned by his father Judge Alfred Woodward, along with his sister named Wendy Woodward, near Northside Park.

I have been to one or two parties of Wendy Woodward many years ago in the 70s while she still lived with her dad Alfred the judge, while her brother, reporter Bob Woodward was in hot pursuit of Richard Nixon a.k.a. Tricky Dick. Bob Woodward also went to Central High School in Wheaton, which was the same high school that the Belushi brothers went to.

Coincidently, actor Bob Odenkirk, of Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul,, grew up nearby in Naperville, Illinois (7 miles from Wheaton), and Odenkirk also went to the College of DuPage for a while, the same local community college where the Belushi brothers went to. Odenkirk has probably been to Wheaton many, many times in his youth, and had to go through Wheaton from Naperville, to get to Glenn Ellyn, where the College of DuPage was located.

The College of DuPage started its own newspaper in 1967 called the Courier, which in later issues had advertisements for the “Lord and Lady Q Billiards,” in Wheaton.

https://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=courier

https://archive.org/details/courier

For what it is worth, when I last saw Jim Belushi in person he was driving a volkswagon bug. At that time, I believe that he lived above a bar nearby in Naperville, called Odee’s? From what I recall, Jim was a close friend of an old friend of mine named Graham Cadwallader (passed away), who also was from Wheaton. That last time I saw Jim Belushi in person (not on TV or movie), he picked me up as I was hitch-hiking to Chicago one afternoon while he was on his way to the Second City Theatre in Chicago. I am not claiming that I knew the Belushi brothers well, but it was really cool years ago to run into them at times at the “Lord & Lady Q Billiards,” and that Jim Belushi picked me up while I was hitch-hiking one day, before he was blessed with fame and fortune.

This was long before I moved to Oakland, and started listening in to KPFA radio 94.1 FM, in Berkeley.

On another note, back in 1974, I went to a fantastic Frank Zappa concert in Naperville https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYlZU-09IkA — https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/frank-zappa/1974/merner-field-house-naperville-il-1bd02558.html .

Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com  

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