"Thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for the opportunity for me to be called an expert at something," Rogen said in his opening statement, before chiding the committee chairman for never having seen Rogen's film "Knocked Up."
"First I'll address the question I assume many of you are asking," Rogen said. "Yes I'm aware this has nothing to do with the legalization of marijuana."
Despite the lighthearted nature of his initial comments, Rogen quickly turned to how Alzheimer's had affected his family's life, although some humor made its way into his later comments on such a serious topic.
Nine years ago, Rogen began dating his now-wife Lauren Miller, who later admitted something was wrong with her mother Adele. She was diagnosed with the disease at just 55 years old.
Rogen's impression of the disease, he told the committee, was that it was something "only really really old people got."
"I thought the way the disease showed itself was in the form of forgotten keys, wearing mismatched shoes, and being asked the same question over and over again."
Instead, his personal experience was much different.
"After forgetting who she and her loved ones were," Rogen said. "She forgot how to speak, feed herself, dress herself, all by the age of 60."
Even before his testimony, Rogen had been highly involved in Alzheimer's outreach for several years, acting as a celebrity spokesman and fundraiser for the National Alzheimer's Association. He and his wife also started the non-profit Hilarity For Charity to raise awareness and money for Alzheimer's among a younger generation.
"The situation is so dire that it caused me, a lazy, self-involved, generally self-medicated manchild to start an entire charity organization," Rogen said.
Rogen called on the committee and the government to take more steps in the fight against Alzheimer's, a disease with no cure and no treatment to stop it from progressing.
You can watch his full opening statement below via CSPAN: