Abdullah Saeed is one of America’s most well-known faces in the world of cannabis culture.
The cannabis connoisseur rose to fame hosting Bong Appetit and The High Life for Vice. Following that, he wrote for and starred in HBO’s High Maintenance. Now, Saeed juggles a number of projects, including something kept under tight wraps for now.
Abdullah Saeed launched his career with VICE
Saeed began his career as a content contributor and freelance writer for various outlets, including the Philadelphia Weekly. He then served as Editor-in-Chief at Karmaloop.com. For a long time, he specialized in culture, nightlife, and music, which is how he began at VICE with the Noisey column.
VICE also gave him his start with cannabis writing. There, he came to lead the Weediquette column and Bong Appetit, as well as The High Life. “I don’t believe cannabis is a drug, nor would I characterize its study and advocacy as provocative,” The Blast quotes Saeed.
Saeed was one of many creators to leave VICE once a recent scandal involving a “toxic environment rampant with sexual harassment” broke out at the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018. Since then, Saeed helped write and acted in HBO’s High Maintenance, which wrapped its fourth and final season in 2020.
The series grew from a web series to an HBO produced show. It has been praised for its representation of loneliness and boredom, as well as New York society, and the writing has been called “luxurious and twisty and humane.”
Rock musician, interpreter, journalist – Abdullah Saeed wears many hats
Saeed comes from a Pakistani family. Though born in New Hampshire, he spent most of his early life in Thailand, where his father worked as a professor. Saeed’s mother, a nurse, was even featured on an episode of Bong Appetit. Saeed tells Dope Magazine that watching his relatives age is one of the things that drives to educate people about the benefits of CBD on various diseases. “Weed isn’t just my goofy thing. It’s a medicine that can help my family,” he says. “You can benefit without getting high.”
Saeed was also part of a few rock bands, including The Kominas and Ali & the Kid. His music career grew out of the people that he met while working as a freelance journalist, but it was his Weediquette column which ended up skyrocketing his career. He has also worked as a translator and interpreter, including on TV shows and a freighter ship.
The “Untitled Prison Dance Movie” Project
Saeed recently joined forces with Ben Sinclair, the co-creator High Maintenance, which The Hollywood Reporter describes as a “prison dance movie”. According to Complex, the style of the film will echo that of a musical and will be Sinclair’s first full-length work. The film was picked up by Fox Searchlight and New Regency, but any further information has been kept tightly under wraps.
Saeed is also the co-host of “Great Moments in Weed History”. This podcast explores the way that humanity has interacted with the plant beyond the widely known. The episodes delve into Carl Sagan’s “weed-fueled scientific epiphanies” and “the compelling evidence that Jesus performed healing miracles by infusing THC into his Holy Anointing Oil.”
The co-hosts act as teacher and comedic foil, since David Bienenstock is typically the one to provide the history, while Saeed comes in blind and provides the comedy and reactions. Each episode is about an hour long, and the podcast is two seasons in so far.
