THE 10 MOST SUCCESSFUL POTHEADS ON THE PLANET… COOL ENOUGH TO ADMIT IT

               

An unemployed porno addict, sitting in his parents’ basement, playing video games, eating Lucky Charms out of the box with one hand while he lazily scratches his balls with the other. A dread-lock having, patchouli oil smelling, tie-die wearing, Phish listening, hula-hoop twirling space cadet. A burger flipping, acne having, socially inept, friendless loser… These are the common stereotypes associated with the term ‘pothead’. In a recent piece we published on pot farms, a debate erupted in the comments section, with some arguing that if you smoke pot, you’ll be poor, gay, and “washing dishes until you’re dead.”

Where these stereotypes originated remains a mystery to us. In reality, they couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only have 42% of Americans admitted to trying pot, but pot smokers have gone on to become some of the most successful people in our society. We’re not talking about Willie Nelson and Snoop. These guys are on the Forbes 500, they’re leading the free world, and they prove that all existing pothead stereotypes are nothing more than myths.

Sir Richard Branson

While the ‘Sir’ in front of this guy’s name puts him in some very elite company, it doesn’t automatically get him on this list. What does earn him a spot is the fact that he’s the 236th richest person in the world, founder of the Virgin empire, which encompasses everything from airlines to record stores to cell phones, and made his entire multi-billion dollar fortune from absolutely nothing. Not only does this man smoke weed, he gets high with his 21-year-old son. He has publicly stated that there’s nothing wrong with smoking pot, has petitioned for the legalization of pot, and even said that if it were legal, he’d sell it.

Rick Steves

Your name doesn’t become synonymous with ‘European Travel’ by accident. You can’t just take a bong hit, lay back in your bean bag and toss off a few ‘graphs on how awesome the Louvre is. And yet here’s Rick Steves, author of 27 top selling European travel guides, host of his own TV show and radio show, and a very outspoken pothead. He’s a member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and credits pot for turning him into a better travel writer by opening his mind to new things.

Aaron Sorkin

In fairness to tokers around the world, Sorkin is a bit more of a ‘drug addict’ than he is ‘pothead’. He started dabbling with weed and coke back in the late ’80s, has been in and out of rehab numerous times, and was arrested for possession of marijuana, mushrooms and crack in 2001. So yeah, he loves to smoke weed… but he also loves to freebase. Not cool, Aaron! However, the man’s drug problems have done little to hinder his success in Hollywood. His work on The West Wing, both as writer and producer, earned him multiple Emmy Awards, and countless nominations for other awards.

Michael Phelps

Mr. “Has More Olympic Gold Medals Than Anyone In History” made headlines this week when photos of him and a bong surfaced. Since the scandal, Phelps has given a few interviews decrying his “bad judgment,” promising it was a dumb mistake that never happened before and won’t happen again… but we know that’s bullsh*t. Phelps was hitting that bong like a pro, not daintily toking some little amateur joint. With this in mind, we’re going to go ahead and assume this wasn’t Phelps’s first time. It might be his last, but it definitely wasn’t his first. This means that you can become the most world class athlete of all time and be a pot smoker at the same time. Stereotype shattered.

Barack Obama

Almost every American President before Barry, from Washington to Clinton to Bush, has had a pot addled past. Clinton purportedly tried and failed to smoke a joint, Bush was a boozer, but messed with coke and pot from time to time, Washington even grew marijuana on his farm. But as far as we know, none have admitted to smoking as much pot as Obama. He wrote extensively about his stoner past in his book Dreams of My Father, and in a 2007 interview stated “When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point.” Anyone who wonders what kind of future a pothead can have should take a hard look at Barack Obama. Not only can you grow up to be ridiculously smart, you can grow up to be President.

Michael Bloomberg

The Mayor of New York’s last name is associated with ‘business’ and ‘success’, not ‘failure’ and ‘the munchies’. But if you’re one of those idiots who believes a pothead could never amount to anything, you’d have never guessed this was the way Bloomberg would turn out. Did he smoke pot when he was younger? In his own words “You bet I did. And I enjoyed it!”

Ted Turner

Ted is a rare breed of billionaire — he comes off as completely absent minded, incapable of even putting on his own pants. Yet he is a mega-mogul. He single-handedly invented the 24-hour news cycle with CNN, was named Time’s Man of the Year in 1991, is the largest private land owner in America, and also owns a few other TV stations, and the Atlanta Braves. So… owning lots of stuff? Not what you’d expect from a guy who grew pot in his college dorm room. Ted is also a major funder of the Kentucky Hemp Museum, along with renowned stoner Woody Harelson, and is a well known fan of the classic stoner cartoon Scooby-Doo.

Montel Williams

The talk show prince discovered pot late in life, and for good reason. Back in 1999 he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and couldn’t find anything to suppress his symptoms. He tried all sorts of pain killers; none worked, and all had horrible side effects. So he decided to try medical marijuana (same thing as regular marijuana, FYI) and it worked wonders for him! Years later, he is one of MS’s most recognizable faces, one of medical marijuana’s staunchest defenders, and even though he’s baked all the time, still managed to host his own talk show until 2008, when it was unfortunately canceled. Well, at least he’s still got his weed.

Stephen King

We haven’t included many creative types on this list, mostly because they’re all potheads. Every actor, musician and artist ever is a huge pothead. It’s a fact, don’t dispute us. But writing 1,000 page novels is a slightly different process. You can’t just ‘jam out’ The Stand. Over the course of his career, both his output and his success have been unparalleled. He’s authored upwards of 50 novels and short stories which have sold a collective 500 million copies worldwide. He’s also been one of the most vocal proponents for the legalization of marijuana, calling laws against the drug “ridiculous,” and stating that “I think that marijuana should not only be legal, I think it should be a cottage industry.” It makes perfect sense. You’d have to be stoned to come up with some of the sh*t this guy has.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Governator is the only man on this list who is actually on video smoking weed. In the classic documentary Pumping Iron, he is seen smoking, and loving, a joint. But hey man, that was the’70s, right? Things have chanced since then. Haven’t they? Well, Schwarzenegger hasn’t been puffing since his election to office, but he has presided over California’s recent medical marijuana renaissance. Now anyone who wants one can get a pot prescription in the state, which gives them legal access to some of the best weed in the country, and even allows them to grow plants in their own home. According to Arnold, marijuana “is not a drug, it’s a leaf.”
                                                            
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Americans agree: Marijuana shouldn't be criminalized

The Marijuana Debate

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Allen St. Pierre, Paul Armentano: Ground has shifted in favor of legalizing pot
• They say Americans think enforcement is too costly
• Writers: Polls shows more in U.S. favor legalizing pot for adults
• Writers: Pot legalization is not a matter of "if," it's a matter of "when"

Editor's note: Allen St. Pierre is the executive director and Paul Armentano is the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington. Watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta's documentary "Weed" at 8 p.m. ET August 11 on CNN.

(CNN) -- Despite decades of propaganda from marijuana prohibitionists, a majority of the American public has indeed said "enough" to the policies of cannabis criminalization. And no amount of fear-mongering is going to change this fact.

Writing in a just-published report by the Brookings Institute, "The New Politics of Legalization," authors E.J. Dionne and William Galston conclude, "In less than a decade, public opinion has shifted dramatically toward support for the legalization of marijuana. ... Demographic change and widespread public experience using marijuana imply that opposition to legalization will never again return to the levels seen in the 1980s. The strong consensus that formed the foundation for many of today's stringent marijuana laws has crumbled."

Indeed it has. Never in modern history has there existed greater public support for ending the nation's nearly century-long experiment with pot prohibition and replacing it with a system of legalization and regulation. The proof is in the polls.

Allen St. Pierre

Paul Armentano

For example, according to a May 2013 Reason Magazine-Rupe nationwide survey, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, more than nine out of 10 U.S. adults say that people who possess or consume small quantities of cannabis should not face jail time.

Also last month, a May 2013 nationwide Fox News telephone poll, conducted by under the direction of Anderson Robbins Research and Shaw & Co. Research,reported that 85% of voters support allowing adults to use cannabis for therapeutic purposes. The total is an increase in support of 4 percentage points since Fox last polled the question in 2010 and is the highest level of public support for the issue ever reported in a scientific poll.

Opinion: Legalizing marijuana a boon to potheads

Then there is this: An April 2013 national survey commissioned by the Pew Research Center reports that 72% of Americans now believe that "government efforts to enforce marijuana laws cost more than they are worth," and 60% say the government should no longer enforce federal anti-marijuana laws in states that have approved its use.

And this: According to a December 2012 Angus Reid national sampling of U.S .voters, 66% say that they expect cannabis to be legal within the next 10 years.

And finally there's this: recently published polls by Gallup, Pew,Quinnipiac University and Public Policy Polling all find that far more Americans now favor legalizing marijuana for adults than believe in its continued prohibition. Why? The answer has become obvious. The ongoing enforcement of cannabis prohibition burdens taxpayers, encroaches upon civil liberties, engenders disrespect for the law, impedes legitimate scientific research into the plant's medicinal properties, and disproportionately impacts communities of color. Furthermore, the criminalization of cannabis simply doesn't work.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta changes mind on weed

Dr. Gupta: I was wrong about weed

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: I've tried marijuana

Despite more than 70 years of federal prohibition, Americans' consumption of and demand for cannabis is here to stay. Voters' recent passage of legalization measures in Colorado and Washington acknowledges this reality. Such laws seek to take control of the marijuana market from untaxed criminal enterprises and, to impose common-sense regulations governing cannabis' personal use by adults and licensing its production.

Unlike the federal government, which continues to define cannabis as an illegal commodity that is as dangerous as heroin, voters recognize that a pragmatic regulatory framework that allows for limited, licensed production and sale of cannabis to adults but restricts use among young people best reduces the risks associated with its use or abuse.

Marijuana regulations can allow governments to establish legal parameters for where, when, and how markets operate. They can provide oversight of who may legally operate in those markets and provides guidelines for best practices. Society would clearly benefit from this. Only criminals and cartels benefit from the unregulated environment.

Maybe an even more persuasive if not entirely counter-intuitive argument in favor of legalization as a means to actually deter youth use is found in recently released Gallup polling indicating a dramatic reduction in youth cannabis use rate as there is a surge in favor of cannabis legalization from virtually all segments of American society.

It is time to end our failed policies on marijuana criminalization and replace them with ones that regulate the cannabis market and allow for its private consumption by adults.

Marijuana legalization is no longer a matter of if; it's a matter of when.

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What are the health risks of marijuana legalization?

Colorado and Washington state have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. I thought this would take longer to legislate, especially with the recent backlash from the federal government about medical marijuana. Eighteen states (including California, Alaska, Vermont and Oregon) allow marijuana to be used for medical reasons, but have restrictions on which conditions can be treated with it, which don’t necessarily correlate perfectly with the diseases for which it is effective. I have worked in a state which doesn’t allow legal marijuana use for anything, but have seen patients from neighboring states who did use medical marijuana and have tried to stay abreast of the laws and issues surrounding use.

Marijuana is relatively nontoxic. Nobody has ever died of overdosing on marijuana, though it is theoretically possible. Combining marijuana with other drugs can lead to overdose death, and combining marijuana with driving or other activities which require fast reaction time has undoubtedly resulted in trauma related death. Still, the chemicals, including tetrahydrocannabinol, which cause marijuana’s high and helpful effects, are mostly not terribly harmful.

Marijuana can be smoked, in which case its effects are noticed quickly and last for 2-3 hours, or taken orally, in which case effects can be delayed for hours and can persist for quite a long time as the drug is more gradually absorbed. Smoking is a particularly good delivery method from the standpoint of a pharmaceutical because of the quick onset which means that a person is more able to accurately judge the appropriate dose, titrating to the desired effect.

Mentally, marijuana can cause anxiety and even paranoia. Usually, though, it is more likely to be sedating than anything else. It can cause euphoria and perceptual distortions. It interferes with formation of memory, which makes it a bad choice for students. It is often good for treating anxiety and sleeplessness, is especially good for nausea and relieves various kinds of pain, including the pain of fibromyalgia (a brain related sensitization to bodily pain with associated symptoms of sleep disorder, irritable bowel, headaches and sometimes confusion) which is difficult to treat with other pain medications. It can significantly reduce the need for opiate pain medications in patients with chronic pain, and opiates really can kill people. It is also potentially inexpensive, or free if a person grows it themselves.

Physically, though, marijuana is not without drawbacks. It definitely increases appetite, which can be good in the setting of chronic illness, but can also lead to obesity. It causes men to grow breast tissue if it is used regularly, though the mechanism of this is not clear. This is primarily observational, but will probably be studied more as marijuana use becomes more common and legal. Marijuana, when smoked, does not appear to cause lung cancer or chronic obstructive lung disease, in fact it seems to be associated with increased lung capacity in regular users. There is an uncommon disease, usually of young men, called cyclic vomiting syndrome, in which patients suffer days of vomiting with intervening periods of normal gut function. This appears in many cases to be due to marijuana use, and is not limited to heavy or regular use.

Marijuana is one of the many drugs that can cause pancreatitis, an inflammation of the digestive and insulin producing organ that can be painful and can eventually become chronic. It appears to be a very rare cause, though, and most people who develop this get it from alcohol abuse. There are physical symptoms of cannabis use, including conjunctival redness and increased heart rate, and there are withdrawal syndromes in regular users, including yawning, excessive sleepiness and panic attacks.

All in all, from a medical standpoint, is probably a good thing that marijuana is legalized. Patient who are presently dependent on physicians for opiate prescriptions might be able to be transitioned to marijuana, which would at least not kill them. When it becomes more practical to study marijuana’s medical effects, there will be more evidence of both what it is good for and when its use should be discouraged. It is, of course, still a mind altering substance and people will need to learn how to use it responsibly. Significantly more people will probably use marijuana when they can do so without legal repercussions and physicians will probably see more issues with dependence and habitual use. This is probably an excellent time to begin to study the social and medical consequences of having a very popular and powerful chemical more generally available.

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5 things to know about marijuana in the U.S.

'Inside Man' looks at medical marijuana

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Two states have made pot completely legal; 18 allow medical marijuana use
• But it's still illegal under federal law; gap growing between state and federal laws
• Studies, personal stories attest to medical value of marijuana
• New tax revenues in states that legalized pot have fallen short of predictions

(CNN) -- There appears to be a shift in the United States in favor of relaxing marijuana laws. Making pot legal, supporters say, can simultaneously provide relief for the sick and poke a hole in the operations of drug cartels. But the federal government has not acted to remove marijuana's label as a controlled substance and has reaffirmed its anti-pot policy.

Morgan Spurlock's new program, "Inside Man," premieres on CNN this weekend with an in-depth look at the medical marijuana business in California. Here are five things to know about the current debate over the drug:

There is evidence of changing attitudes in America

Public perceptions about pot have come a long way in the past decades, from the dire warnings of "Reefer Madness" to growing acceptance of medical marijuana use.

What is a marijuana clinic like?

Spurlock: 'I'm Harborside's newest hire'

Laws in several states decriminalizing marijuana or allowing for medical marijuana use are one indicator of how voters feel.

Two states -- Colorado and Washington -- havecompletely legalized pot for recreational use.

Illinois, Ohio take up medical marijuana laws

Adrien Grenier, best known for his role in the HBO hit "Entourage," produced a documentary film that examines who the people swept up in the war on drugs really are.

He made the film, "How to Make Money Selling Drugs," as a way to "examine the hypocrisy of the war on drugs," he wrote recently.

Grenier's views reflect those of an increasing number of Americans who, polls show, see the prohibition of marijuana as a waste of billions of dollars.

"I want to make clear that I am not looking to glamorize the drug trade," Grenier wrote. "But it is important to understand that little is to be gained from stigma and demonization."

Cheryl Shuman, who calls herself the Martha Stewart of marijuana, argues that marijuana can make you a better parent and provide economic opportunities for others.

"The bottom line is cannabis is here to stay, the toothpaste is out of the tube," Shulman told CNN's Piers Morgan.

But not all are convinced.

Last year, John Walters, who directed the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy from 2001 to 2009, told CNN that decriminalization is "utterly self-defeating" and would cause more crime.

Melissa Etheridge: Pot got me through

The cost of prohibition remains high

It is estimated that $7.6 billion is spent annually by state and local justice systems on marijuana arrests, according to advocacy group NORML.

Advocates of reforms say instead of spending this money on enforcement, the government could spend it elsewhere and tax marijuana to reap even more for its coffers.

Indeed, taxing pot could raise hundreds of millions of dollars, but there is no guarantee that it would be a moneymaker for states.

The financial gains in Washington and Colorado, the two states that have legalized marijuana, have not been as great as some expected.

Washington had projected up to $450 million in added annual tax revenue, but the state's new pot consultant figures it could be little more than half that.

In Colorado, the Colorado Futures Center think tank forecasts $130 million in new tax revenue but thinks that won't even cover the cost of regulating the new industry.

Still, some say the legalization of pot would bring down the black markets that have left a murderous trail, drawing parallels with what happened during and after the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s and '30s.

Estimates vary widely on how big a hit drug cartels would take if marijuana were legalized. While U.S. officials said in 2009 that 60% of cartel revenue came from weed, the RAND Corp. said the following year that "15-26 percent is a more credible range."

A report this month by the Mexican Competitiveness Institute predicted Mexican drug organizations, specifically the Sinaloa Cartel, could lose almost $2.8 billion just from the legalization votes in Colorado and Washington.

Marijuana: The next diabetes drug?

Studies cite medicinal benefits of marijuana

The wall of prohibition began to show cracks when it became accepted that marijuana has medicinal uses.

Medical marijuana dispensaries have clients who suffer ills ranging from cancer to AIDS to chronic pain. Proponents say the drug's pain-relieving properties offer an alternative for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments.

Opponents, however, say that science has yet to prove that marijuana is safe.

A series of trials published by the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research last year showed cannabis can help patients suffering from neuropathic pain, commonly caused by degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis or fibromyalgia. Neuropathic pain is also a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation.

Study participants on cannabis reported a 34% to 40% decrease in pain, compared with the 17% to 20% decrease seen in patients on a placebo drug.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, meanwhile, says that marijuana causes an increase in heart rate, which could put users at risk for a heart attack or stroke. Marijuana smoke also contains carcinogens similar to those in tobacco smoke.

Jason David, whose son Jayden suffers from seizures, turned to the drug and calls it "miracle marijuana."

Jayden has Dravet syndrome, a rare and catastrophic form of childhood epilepsy. The boy started taking a liquid, nonpsychoactive form of marijuana, which his father says controls his violent seizures. This form ensures that Jayden does not get high from the drug, his father says, but has allowed him to enjoy the things other boys do.

Seattle's budding economy: Pot tourism

Medical marijuana dispensaries are not what you imagine

Spurlock said he imagined that marijuana dispensaries -- the places where patients can purchase medical pot -- would be shady places.What he found at Harborside Health Center, the largest dispensary in the country, surprised him.

The space was large and clean, nicer than many health clinics he has been to, Spurlock said. Tight security regulated who could enter the business, which sells various strains of marijuana and lotions, pills and other products derived from the drug.

Some strains of marijuana are known to be more cerebral and energizing, while others are more sedative in nature and have greater pain-relieving properties. Dispensaries such as Harborside categorize their products accordingly and have specific strains for different ailments.

Marijuana laws put state and federal statutes at odds

Eighteen states have either decriminalized or allowed medical marijuana in some fashion. While the state laws have allowed dispensaries to open, they remain illegal under federal law. The gap between state and federal laws is widening when it comes to marijuana enforcement.

For instance, state law makes it legal to possess marijuana in Washington state, but selling drugs is still a federal crime. There is a similar situation in California, where medical marijuana is allowed, but again, growers don't have the same legal protections that users have.

Pot smokers in Washington celebrated in Seattle's Space Needle by toking up as the law legalizing weed went into effect, but growing and selling it remain felonies.

"So I'm not sure where you're supposed to get it," King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said when the law went into effect. "If you stumble across some on the street or it falls from the sky, then you can have it. Otherwise, you are part of a criminal chain of distribution."

In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215 to exempt doctors and seriously ill patients from marijuana laws and allow them to grow and use it in treatment. But government crackdowns on growers since then have led to multiple lawsuits.

Harborside, the dispensary that Spurlock visited, is fighting to remain open amid efforts by the feds to shut it down.

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Blue Dream Marijuana Strain Review And Picture

Blue Dream Cannabis Review And Pictures

Blue Dream is a cross of Blueberry and Haze and was bred to provide the body high of an indica and the cerebral sativa effects. Blue Dream is highly effective for pain management without the sedative effects of a pure indica. Effects are long lasting and she has a pleasant fruity taste.

Check out the Blue Dream marijuana strain on THCFinder.Com, and see what people had to say about it, and how it affects various ailments.

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NORML Offering Scholarships To The 2013 International Drug Policy Reform Conference

By Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director
The 2013 International Drug Policy Reform Conference is fast approaching. For three days from October 23rd through October 26th attendees will have the opportunity to interact with people committed to finding alternatives to the war on drugs while participating in sessions given by leading experts from around the world. This year’s conference is taking place in Denver, Colorado, where the drug policy reform landscape has just recently changed dramatically. In 2011, the conference hosted over 1,000 people representing 30 different countries. We wish to continue this stellar record of attendance and are pleased to offer scholarship assistance to allow a diverse group of people to participate.
We encourage you to attend the conference and have included the link to information about the National and International Scholarship applications here. Please be aware that although generous, our scholarships do not cover the full cost of attending the Conference. The deadline to apply for scholarships if you are from the US is August 2, for international attendees it is July 31.
Any questions about National Scholarships should be directed to Stephanie Polito and any questions about International Scholarships to Zara Snapp.
Numerous NORML staff, board members and chapter leaders will be in attendance for this important bi-annual drug policy reform conference…hope to see you there too!

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