Thank you for checking out MPP's second annual "Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users" list! There has been quite a bit of variation since last year, including several additions and a number of people dropping in rank or off the list entirely.
In order to have qualified for the list, each individual must (1) have tried marijuana at least once, (2) be alive, and (3) be living in the U.S. or be a U.S. citizen. To create the list, we adopted the criteria used by Out Magazine to select their “Power 50” list of LGBT Americans. That means our choices are based on “power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and a person’s media profile” – not just on popularity or support for marijuana policy reform. Fortunately, many of them have expressed support, but there are some “bad guys” on there, too.
In sum, we're not concerned with an individual's popularity, or even whether he or she supports marijuana policy reform. Rather, the 2013 "Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users" list is meant to identify people who have used marijuana and achieved high levels of success or influence.
President Barack Obama
01
"When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." (Source: YouTube)
Oprah Winfrey
02
"To kick things off, [television show host Andy Cohen] asked the last time Winfrey had smoked marijuana.
'Uh … 1982,' Winfrey replied.
'Let's hang out after the show,' Cohen joked.
'Okay,' Winfrey laughed. 'I hear it's gotten better.' (Source: Bravo)
President Bill Clinton
03
"I experimented with marijuana a time or two." (Source: YouTube)
Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
04
"The White House said today that Judge Clarence Thomas, President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, had smoked marijuana while in college." (Source: New York Times)
Stephen Colbert
05
"First, [in high school], I smoked a lot of pot...and that’s how I got to know the people ‘half in’ the society of my high school and we waved at each other over the bong. Then I got to know people by making jokes.” (Source: San Francisco Chronicle Interview (January 2006))
Jon Stewart
06
“Do you know how many movies I wrote when I was high?” (Source: The Daily Show)
Jay-Z
07
I smoked some weed, and that’s how I finished ‘Izzo.’ (Source: XXL Magazine)
John Kerry
08
"Yes." [In response to the question: "Which of you are ready to admit to having used marijuana in the past?" (Source: On The Issues)
George Soros
09
"He said he had tried marijuana, enjoyed it, 'but it did not become a habit and I have not tasted it in many years.'" (Source: Reuters, 2/6/97)
Bill Maher
10
"Look, I have never made a secret of the fact that I have tried marijuana... About 50,000 times." (Source: YouTube)
