It was early still, and daylight, so when I called up The Dude to get his take on new polls showing California on the verge of becoming the first state to legalize, tax and regulate recreational use of marijuana, I knew he wouldn’t be, um, distracted. Not just yet.

“I only smoke a little pot at night — never in the day — and I prefer brownies,” said Jeff Dowd, who is best known as the inspiration for the other Dude, the laconically mystical character played by Jeff Bridges in the Coen brothers movie “The Big Lebowski.” I’ve known The Dude for years, and the Coens got him mostly right, except for the White Russians. Jack Daniels is his drink.

And before Hollywood-area enforcers get any ideas, let’s make it clear that Mr. Dowd has a legal right to his medical marijuana, though he complains about the prices (“more than $300 an ounce!”). If anyone is entitled to some whining about price gouging for prescription weed, it’s The Dude.

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