Dax Shepard defends Kristen Bell from critics saying her marijuana use compromises his sobriety


Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell may disagree on where to put the La-Z-Boy, but they are on the same page when it comes to drug use. And it’s basically: He remains sober, 14 years and counting, and she can partake in some recreational marijuana use, which is legal in California.

Bell shared her “weed rules” in an interview on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast. She said she smokes approximately once a week, never around their two daughters, and her partner of 11 years is OK with that. She also said that he’s actually OK with people dabbling in various other options — he thinks everyone should try “really good ecstasy” and mushrooms before they die — as long as they’re not being “schmucks” while inebriated. While that works for them, this is America, home of the free, to share our opinions about everything — and Shepard found himself defending his wife against her online critics.

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell, pictured last year, are on the same page when it comes to drug use. (Photo: Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell, pictured last year, are on the same page when it comes to drug use. (Photo: Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

First, he responded to The Talk’s discussion about whether if one half of a couple was sober, the other half should also be.

However, soon after, someone told him “you’re just kidding yourself” and that Bell “making light” of his sobriety is “just a bad way to go.” The commenter added, “I hope you all see this before something bad happens. Cause Kristen will have that on her shoulders.” Needless to say, that got his attention.

Shepard, who once said he loved “cocaine and Jack Daniels” before he loved Bell, then clarified a couple of points about what he was OK being around. Cocaine is a no-go.

And he called drinking “dangerous.”

He also reminded folks that weed is legal in California.

In Bell’s interview, she said, “I can’t [smoke pot] around my kids, which is a phenomenal amount of hours each week. Once a week, if I’m just exhausted and we’re about to sit down and watch 60 Minutes, why not?”

She went on to say that cocaine was off-limits for her, but ecstasy isn’t — with Shepard offering to host an “ecstasy party” with their friends. “He wants to have everyone get an overnight babysitter that we trust, put all the kids together, then come to our house, check your keys, and then have one of his buddies there and just give everybody really good ecstasy and just have us all braid each other’s hair or something,” she said.

“He doesn’t have a problem with anyone else partaking in anything, provided, within reason, that they’re not acting like a complete schmuck. He’s fine if people do things. He likes drugs and alcohol. He just is aware that he lost his privilege with them because he can’t handle it. His brain does not have the chemistry to handle it.”

Bell is supportive of Shepard’s sobriety, even posting public tributes to him on his sober anniversaries, describing herself as “proud.”

His sobriety has been a long road. In 2012, he got candid about the extent of his addiction, saying he used a little of everything. “I just loved to get f***ed-up — drinking, cocaine, opiates, marijuana, diet pills, pain pills, everything,” he told Playboy. “Mostly, my love was Jack Daniel’s and cocaine. I lived for going down the rabbit hole of meeting weird people. Of course, come Monday, I would be tallying up all the different situations, and each one was progressively more dangerous. I got lucky in that I didn’t go to jail.”


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