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Press Release
‘Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Consumers’ Named by Nation’s Largest Marijuana Policy Organization
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Contact: Violet Cavendish
vcavendish@mpp.org
President Obama tops the list, followed by several 2016 presidential candidates — at least eight (and as many as 17) of the 23 major-party presidential hopefuls have consumed marijuana
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, the nation’s largest marijuana policy organization, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), released its annual list of the “Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Consumers” in the United States.
The list is available below and at https://www.mpp.org/Top50.
“About one out of every two Americans has used marijuana, including a whole lot of very successful people,” said Mason Tvert, MPP’s director of communications. “There are a lot more out there that we don’t know about because it is illegal. Marijuana is a less harmful substance than alcohol. Adults who use it responsibly should not have to choose between keeping it a secret or admitting to a crime.”
President Barack Obama is at the top of MPP’s list, followed by several 2016 presidential candidates. At least eight (and as many as 17) of the 23 major-party presidential hopefuls have said or strongly indicated that they have consumed marijuana: Jeb Bush, Lincoln Chafee, Ted Cruz, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Bernie Sanders, and Rick Santorum. Nine others do not appear to have said whether they have consumed marijuana, and they did not respond to inquiries from MPP: Joe Biden, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich, Bobby Jindal, Martin O’Malley, and Jim Webb. Only six candidates have said they never used marijuana: Hillary Clinton, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry, Donald Trump, and Scott Walker.
“In addition to potentially becoming our next president, these marijuana consumers are playing a major role in the national political dialogue,” Tvert said. “Win or lose, they are guiding the debate and influencing the positions of others both within and outside of their parties.
“Of the nearly two dozen major-party candidates running for president, fewer than one-third are willing and able to admit they never used marijuana,” Tvert said. “And one of them is married to the fourth most influential marijuana consumer in America. Times have changed, and so have public attitudes toward marijuana.”
The list is intended to identify individuals who have used marijuana and achieved high levels of success or influence. It was created using the same criteria employed by Out Magazine to produce its "Power 50” list of LGBT Americans, such as “power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and a person’s media profile.” To qualify for MPP’s list, individuals must (1) be alive, (2) be a U.S. citizen, and (3) have consumed marijuana at least once in their life according to either their own account or that of a legitimate source. They do not need to currently consume marijuana or support marijuana policy reform.
“We hope this list will make people question some of the anti-marijuana propaganda they’ve been hearing for so long,” Tvert said. “Millions of adults enjoy consuming marijuana for many of the same reasons that adults enjoy consuming alcohol. The only thing that makes marijuana consumers more likely to become ‘losers’ are the legal penalties they face just for using it.”
Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Consumers
1. Barack Obama
2. 2016 Presidential Hopefuls
3. Oprah Winfrey
4. Bill Clinton
5. John Kerry
6. Stephen Colbert
7. Clarence Thomas
8. Katy Perry
9. LeBron James
10. Jay Z
11. Bill Gates
12. George Soros
13. Jon Stewart
14. Bill Maher
15. Rush Limbaugh
16. Andrew Cuomo
17. Sanjay Gupta
18. George W. Bush
19. Seth MacFarlane
20. George Clooney
21. Lady Gaga
22. Ted Turner
23. Brad Pitt
24. Rihanna
25. Whoopi Goldberg
26. Morgan Freeman
27. Angelina Jolie
28. Conan O'Brien
29. Martha Stewart
30. Gov. John Hickenlooper (CO)
31. Gov. Charlie Baker (MA)
32. Tom Brokaw
33. Michael Bloomberg
34. Justin Timberlake
35. Aaron Sorkin
36. Glenn Beck
37. Al Gore
38. Matt Damon
39. Susan Sarandon
40. Madonna
41. Robert Downey, Jr.
42. Phil Jackson
43. Rick Steves
44. Jennifer Lawrence
45. Miley Cyrus
46. Jennifer Aniston
47. Matthew McConaughey
48. Snoop Dogg
49. Hugh Hefner
50. Maureen Dowd
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Founded in 1995, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the nation’s leading cannabis policy reform organization. MPP has played a central role in passing dozens of cannabis policy reforms in states across the country, including 14 successful cannabis legalization campaigns, and also works to advance federal reforms.