Alex Trebek Ate ‘Four to Five Hash Brownies,’ Woke Up Days Later
Alex Trebek admitted he has dabbled in recreational drugs, even once downing “four to five hash brownies.”
The confession comes via his new book, The Answer Is… Reflections on My Life. In the memoir, the Jeopardy! host admits he smoked pot as a potential cure for arthritis and once tried cocaine but didn’t like the way it burned his nose.
Meanwhile, the brownie story goes back to one night in the ‘70s. “I went to this party in Malibu and they had hash brownies,” Trebek recalled during a 2015 interview with Howard Stern. “I love chocolate, and I ate four or five hash brownies. The party was on a Friday night, I didn’t leave their home until Monday morning. No exaggeration!”
The Answer Is… provides many details on the life and career of Trebek, the long-running game show host who has remained relatively private while off screen. The memoir recounts Trebek’s childhood as a class clown, his brief stint in military college and later his foray into Canadian radio.
In the early '70s, he came Stateside as the host of the game show The Wizard of Odds. He’d bounce through several other programs - including High Rollers, Double Dare, Battlestars and The $128,000 Question - before landing with Jeopardy! in 1984. He’s held the hosting position on the classic quiz show ever since.
Trebek was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in 2019. In a recent video update, the TV personality noted that he’s treatment “is paying off, though it does fatigue me a great deal. My numbers are good. I’m feeling great.”
Though Jeopardy! is currently on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the host hopes to get back in studio to record new episodes soon. “It’s a quality program, and I think I do a good job hosting it,” Trebek remarked to the New York Times. “When I start slipping, I’ll stop hosting.”