8 Famous People Who Just So Happen To Smoke Weed
Marijuana is at least partially lawful in 20 states and Washington, D.C., with recreational use permitted in Colorado and Washington state. Its limited legality has not stopped many famous people from partaking in what President Ronald Reagan supposedly once described as "being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast."
Here are eight luminaries who wouldn't let Mr. Reagan tear down their fun.
1. Matthew McConaughey
Pretty shocking that one of the actors from Dazed and Confused likes to light up. According to The Smoking Gun, McConaughey was arrested and charged with possession and drug paraphernalia in 1999 after police found him dancing naked and playing bongo drums at his home. In his defense, he was preparing for his role in Magic Mike.
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
The former California governor and protagonist of my favorite film, Jingle All The Way, told the British version of GQ in 2007 that marijuana is "not a drug. It’s a leaf." Schwarzenegger was defending his own use of the leaf, which was revealed in the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron. In 2012, Schwarzenegger joked about having smoked pot with President Barack Obama in the 1970s. This seems unlikely — according to the Tea Party, Obama spent the 1970s in Kenya.
3. Sir Paul McCartney
Though McCartney was generally considered the most clean-cut member of The Beatles, it is not difficult to imagine someone being high while writing Monkberry Moon Delight. Sir Paul was arrested for marijuana possession at a Japanese airport in 1980. Legend has it that Japanese prison guards made song requests, including Yesterday. Ever the diplomat, he probably complied, thumbs aloft.
4. Bo Bice
Remember American Idol runner-up Bo Bice? Me neither. But in keeping with its legacy of reporting important breaking news, MTV announced in 2005 that Bice had been arrested for cocaine and marijuana possession before competing in the singing contest that introduced us to Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, and that guy with gray hair.
5. Snoop Lion, formerly known as Snoop Dogg and Snoop Doggy Dogg
Ok, ok, so everyone knows Snoop loves weed, but it just wouldn't feel right making a list of pot-smokers and not including him. The rapper and star of everyone's favorite movie adaptation of a TV show, Starsky and Hutch, once admitted in an online chat to smoking "81 blunts a day x 7." Though Snoop has been arrested for possession on a number of occasions, his advocacy on behalf of his favorite plant shows no sign of diminishing. In a GQ profile last year, he proudly relayed a story of sharing his stash with a group of homeless men. "It's from the earth," he explained. "It's not some man-made shit."
8 Famous People Who Just So Happen to Smoke Weed
6. Mary Ann from "Gilligan's Island"
Dawn Wells, the actress known for such notable roles as Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island and a solid guest spot on Roseanne, was arrested in Florida in 2008 after driving like someone who had spent considerable time living on an island without any automobiles.
7. The Middle Jonas Brother
Inexplicably, New York Magazine’s entertainment subsidiary, Vulture, recently published a tell-all interview with Joe Jonas. And boy, were there a lot of crazy stories. Like the time the siblings changed their name from J3 to Jonas Brothers.
In the interview, Jonas acknowledged that the first time he smoked pot was with fellow Disney stars Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus. Bob Dylan gave The Beatles their first joint, and Miley gave Joe his. The circle remains unbroken.
8. Miley Cyrus
I am not going to discuss whether the widespread anger about Cyrus’s VMA performance was puzzling, given the simple solution offered by a remote control. But in my solemn duty as a journalist writing about well-known pot smokers, I must acknowledge that Miley Ray Cyrus loves the ganja. In a video of her 19th birthday party, Cyrus claimed, "You know you're a stoner when your friends make you a Bob Marley cake. You know you smoke way too much fu**in' weed." Her representative later told US Weekly that her comments had been "sarcastic."
Fortunately, Miley and crew are much more honest these days. Last year, she told Rolling Stone that "weed is the best drug on earth."
