2012 Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users
Thank you for checking out MPP's first annual "Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users" list. In order to come up with the final ranking, we asked our supporters to choose from nearly 200 influential people to help us narrow down the list to the final 50 you see here. We took the 37 individuals who received the most votes from our supporters and added them to MPP's top 13 automatic qualifiers (including people like Clarence Thomas). Then all 50 were ranked using the criteria below.
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. We also asked our supporters to adhere to the definition for the "Power 50" list that's used by "Out" magazine, which employs the following criteria: "the power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and a person's media profile."
In sum, we're not concerned with an individual's popularity, or even whether he or she supports marijuana policy reform. Rather, the 2012 "Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users" list is meant to identify people who have used marijuana and achieved high levels of success or influence.
We hope you enjoy this list. We're excited to see how the most influential marijuana users change from year to year. (Prediction: Newt Gingrich will drop off the list.)
41. Tommy Chong
“Legalizing marijuana means a lot more to me than just smoking a joint. I want to be able to use cannabis to treat my cancer without being arrested.”
(Source: CNN)
42. Cheech Marin
“Q: Do you even smoke pot? A: Yeah, every once in a while, I’m Cheech!”
(Source: Yahoo News)
43. Robin Williams
“When we were growing up we knew the side effects of the drugs we were taking… marijuana, side effects were laughter, Frosted Flakes.”
(Source: HBO.com)
44. Whoopi Goldberg
“Smoking cigarettes and pot every now and then are my habits.”
(Source: New York Post)
45. Former Gov. Jesse Ventura (MN)
“I grew up in the '60s. If you grew up in the '60s and say you didn't smoke pot, you are either a liar or you really didn't grow up in the '60s.”
(Source: YouTube)
46. Stephen King
“I don't smoke very much marijuana at all anymore, because I'm afraid of additives, which come from decontrol and deregulation.”
(Source: High Times)
47. Bruce Willis
"I only liked pot, though. I smoked a lot of pot and when I wasn't acting, I was out dancing every night.”
(Source: Ask Men)
48. Neil Young
"I try not to smoke too much. I don't want to set a bad example for the kids."
(Source: Celebstoner)
49. Montel Williams
“… and I will [use marijuana for medical reasons] every day until I drop dead.”
(Source: YouTube)
50. Carlos Santana
“Santana built this place in 1983, about when he began smoking marijuana after 10 years of abstinence.”
(Source: CBS News)
