Bill Maher likes to say, "The only thing bad about marijuana is it makes you eat cookie dough."

After California passed Prop 215 legalizing medical marijuana in 1996, Maher made pot a big part of his late-night TV talk shows - first on Politically Incorrect and now on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher (Fridays, 10 pm EST). Also a stand-up comic, he's given speeches at NORML and MPP conferences (he's on their boards) and hosted a NORML benefit concert in Los Angeles in 2004. Real Time received a 2006 Stony Award for Best Cable-News Series.

"Prescription drugs are the real killer in this country," Maher says. "When you hear a lobby called Partnership for a Drug-Free America, just remember - they do not want a drug-free America. They want an America free of the drugs that are their competition: Marijuana, which never killed anybody. So I guess the lesson is: Kids, stick with marijuana!"

Born on Jan. 20, 1956 in New York and raised in New Jersey, Maher moved to California in the '80s intent on making a career as a comedian. By the '90s he began cultivating his ultra-liberal reputation.

Now one of America's top political pundits, Maher appears on TV, stage and in movies, such as his documentary Religulous.

Maher has been nominated for four 2010 Emmys: two for Real Time and two for his comedy special, ...But I'm Nort Wrong.

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