15 Greatest Proponents of Marijuana Legalization
Marijuana is called many names, across different cultures, largely due to the fact that it’s been around for over five thousand years. An estimated 162 million people in the world use cannabis every year, so it shouldn’t be surprising that so many big names touch the green stuff too. Some celebrities are more forthcoming with their love of weed than others — ahem, Willie Nelson — but you might be surprised at a few that fight for the drug’s legalization. Here are 15 of the greatest proponents of marijuana legalization.
Bill Maher
Social critic, comedian and television host Bill Maher gets passionate about what he supports. Along with gay marriage and PETA, he supports the legalization of marijuana quite publicly — although that’s just his style. He’s even on the advisory board for NORML, and on the 2009 debut of his HBO show Real Time he proposed just how to solve the economic crisis: by legalizing marijuana.
Adam Carolla
Radio shock jock and television personality Adam Carolla is not a pot smoker anymore, so he says, but that doesn’t stop him from supporting the cause — he’s even joined the MPP‘s advisory board. He’s said that pot will eventually win the fight: “It has to… We don’t have a bigger fish to fry than pot? It’s going to happen. It’s just going to happen. It will come to pass,” stated Carolla.
Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote, American Renaissance man, has dabbled in acting, directing, and authoring books as well as screenplays. Born to a Jewish family, he has since converted to Zen Buddhism — so it’s understandable that he has a wide cultural experience and mindset. He supports marijuana and believes that “jailing people for the mild alteration of their consciousness will appear to future generations as cruel and draconian as the tortures of the Inquisition appear to us today. May the reputations of today’s jailers suffer the same fate as Torquemada’s reputation today.” Strong words.
Jack Black
Funny man Jack Black has entertained us with the likes of both film and music. In a recent interview, he spoke of his own drug use — trying acid and cocaine as early as the ninth grade. When it comes to pot — he still smokes — but it’s now “an occasional celebratory jay… not a wake-and-bake scenario anymore at all.” Either way, he smokes it, supports it, and is on the MPP advisory board.
Jack Nicholson
Actor, film director, and producer Jack Nicholson is so good at what he does, that he’s been nominated for 12 Academy Awards, and he’s even won two of them. He’s a big voice in Hollywood, so when he says something — people listen. “My point of view, while extremely cogent, is unpopular… That the repressive nature of the legalities vis-a-vis drugs are destroying the legal system and corrupting the police system.” Cogent may be an understatement, the man can speak, but what the movement lacks in numbers, guys like Nicholson make up for in words.
Jennifer Aniston
While some may be surprised at the fact that American sweetheart and actress Jennifer Aniston smokes bud, she’s admitted her love for it on several occasions. While she was with actor Brad Pitt, they apparently smoked all the time. Now she will “Enjoy it once in a while — There is nothing wrong with that.” She’s been caught by the paparazzi before, smoking in private — we’re sure she’d enjoy the legalization.
Jesse Ventura
Retired professional wrestler turned tv show host Jesse Ventura has dabbled in so many different things in his 58 years, no wonder he looks like a wreck now. He’s known to express his support for medical marijuana, but is even more adamant about his support for the complete legalization of the drug. His mother lived through Prohibition, so he took some pointers from her and believes that:
“The war on drugs is a failure for the same reasons Prohibition was a failure… Just imagine if we could find some way for addicts to get their drugs cheaply, safely, and legally. The bottom would drop out of the illegal drug market. We’d see a huge drop in organized and violent crime.”
Johnny Depp
Award-winning actor Johnny Depp has quite an interesting take on drugs, especially marijuana. He was known to take quite a few drugs in his day — so he speaks from experience. In fact, he’s stated that he wants his kids to get drugs from him if they’re going to try them, instead of some other dealer. He’s been criticized for the statements, but he holds strong and maintains his support for legalization.
Joycelyn Elders, M.D.
Dr. Joycelyn Elders, 15th Surgeon General of the United States, went on to become a professor of pediatrics after she was fired by former President Clinton for her radical views. And by “radical” views, we mean the support of condom distribution in schools, abortion rights and suggesting the legalization of drugs to reduce the crime rate. She’s on the advisory board for the MPP and supports them “because it is a professional organization attempting to change our destructive marijuana laws.”
Kirsten Dunst
Actress Kirsten Dunst, who gained international fame with her role in Spiderman as Mary Jane Watson, is known for her views on weed. Not only does she like the drug, but she believes that “America’s view on weed is ridiculous” and that it would make the world “a better place” should weed be legalized.
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg, current Mayor of New York City, has smoked weed before — and “enjoyed it.” Back in April 2002 he was featured in an ad that some campaigners had started circulating in protest to Bloomberg arresting pot-smokers. He wasn’t thrilled that they were using his name and words, but it still stands that he’s fond of the drug. We think he’s in denial for political reasons.
Morgan Freeman
Another award-winning actor in support of legalization, Morgan Freeman still smokes to this day at the ripe age of 72. In an interview with the UK newspaper The Guardian, the legendary actor told reporters he had given up his use of hard drugs, but that he would never quit his relationship with Mary Jane. In fact, he referred to marijuana as “God’s own weed.”
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson, British industrialist and chairman of Virgin Group, has a net worth of over 2.5 Billion dollars to go with his douchey attitude — but in all fairness, he’s a good douche. He’s one of the world’s richest people, but he spends his money in aggressive, forward-thinking ways. Just look at Virgin Galactic. Staying true to his out-of-the-box thinking, Branson supports the legalization of marijuana — and said he would even sell it in Virgin stores if it were openly available.
Stephen King
Stephen King, writer of contemporary horror and suspense, is all for legalization. Instead of avoiding the topic, as many celebrities and politicians do, he embraces it. He thinks that “marijuana should not only be legal [but that] it should be a cottage industry. It would be wonderful for the state of Maine. There’s some pretty good homegrown dope.” If weed were legalized, he also believes that it would be even better, due to the use of commercial fertilizers and greenhouses.
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt, actor and film producer, calls himself an artist when it comes to rolling a joint. Apparently he has stopped smoking recently because it turns him “into a doughnut,” but he’s been known to publicly support marijuana — he smoked on several movie sets, including Ocean’s Twelve and Thelma and Louise. He wants pot legalized as much as he wants gay marriage legalized, and he won’t stop supporting either until changes are made.
Written by Cowboy on January 6th, 2010 | Tagged as: Adam Carolla,Bill Maher,Brad Pitt,Jack Black,Jack Nicholson,Jennifer Aniston,Johnny Depp,Kirsten Dunst,Morgan Freeman,Popular Culture,Stephen King
On January 6th 2010, Rance Muhamitz wrote:
Ron Paul?
On January 6th 2010, Bob Smith wrote:
You celebrity posting whore, who gives a toss if a bunch of dumb ass actors want legalization? And you forgot cheech and chong…
On January 6th 2010, JunkRockStar wrote:
Kudos! Drugs are not the devil, it's excess and uninformed people that ruins it for everyone else.
On January 6th 2010, Bad Monkey King wrote:
Actors have interesting lives, and are far from stupid. they have to adapt so many charaters and persononia that they end up doing alot of research and have well round thoughts.
Everyone should have there voice heard there just already in the light.
Now wake up America Refer madness was not a fact finding film.
On January 6th 2010, Maine Medical Mariju wrote:
It's great to see so much support for marijuana in Hollywood but the real problem lies in distributing medical marijuana in a safe way.
On January 6th 2010, pinesland boy wrote:
I 've been punished for smoken weed many of times stop putting people in jail 4 samoken and just focuse on america for once have u every realise we could use these to are advantage
On January 6th 2010, carver wrote:
Some very conservative icons such as the late Bill Buckley and George Wills also support legalization
On January 6th 2010, tom wrote:
why don't these celebrities spend some of their money helping the legal costs the average pot smoker can have. all they get is a slap on the wrist. we face jail time
On January 6th 2010, mj wrote:
YES RON PAUL
On January 7th 2010, John wrote:
I'm glad to see support from Hollywood. It is a necessity that well known people speak up for legalizing Marijuana. What gets me, it's hard to believe the people we have voted into office could be so ignorant. It would be interesting to know how many of our countries' supposed leaders even know that Marijuana was made illegal based on lies, greed and racial discrimination. If they do know the history and still vote against legalization then one can only deduce they agree with the disgusting rhetoric that made a weed illegal in the first place.
On January 7th 2010, Fjackie wrote:
Rick Steves. Travel writer and host of Rick Steves' Europe on PBS. http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5530
On January 7th 2010, Nobody Cares wrote:
Drew Carey, Woody Harrelson, Patton Oswalt
On January 7th 2010, Tim wrote:
Anybody else seeing the drugfreeworld.org ad at the bottom of the page? Priceless.
On January 7th 2010, denbee wrote:
Laugh, joke, drink coke and smoke dope…As a 40 year user all this hoopla over cannabis is a bit freaky. It will kill you, make you want to look at white girls in a certain way too. So we better keep it illegal. Can't take no chances our white girls will be harmed!
On January 7th 2010, kris wrote:
dude pot IS legal. I got caught with some and the cops didn't even take it all. They just wanted a little for themselves. Please legalize it so i don't get blackmailed anymore.
On January 7th 2010, Tax the Pot wrote:
We need as many high profile figures on our side. On a side note, a list of the people we most admire would look much the same. Coincidence?
On January 9th 2010, Matthew Fristoe(Prou wrote:
JUST ANOTHER THOUGHT.
Think about "the greenhouse effect" all the avid marijuana users growing the plants would more than likely help global warming. Also Hemp paper would be an extremely eco-friendly replacement.
On January 18th 2010, Ronpaul4ever wrote:
RON PAUL!!!
On January 19th 2010, Stephanie wrote:
Why is the sponsor DrugFreeWorld.org Free Marijuana Booklet?!
On January 23rd 2010, jazzfan wrote:
check out this article and the site that is on the article http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2010/01/19/ted…
On January 24th 2010, bryan wrote:
only when the government can tax our buds will it be legal but not until then
the bud market and black mkt of America are bigger then wall street will ever be and that's the truth some day they might wake up and send some of thoes bud profits to Washington Im sure it would balance our budget
but remember the folks in Washington are all dumb asses
On February 15th 2010, Ashley Davis wrote:
I don't why people throw so much of a fit over weed legalization. LEGALIZE IT!!! It was made illegal through racist republicans who wanted to get back at Mexicans, among other reasons. Weed has been legal for less than 1% of the time it's been used. It has all the effects of alcohol without the repercussions. It's God-made. No man-made bullcrap. It blocks pain receptacles for medical patients. It keeps you from being sick. You CANNOT get sick when your high. I don't care what you do. It has no lasting effects on the body. Don't try to convince me it does. You can drive just fine when your high. My dad has smoked everyday for fourty years and hasn't wrecked once. It can take the place of many medications and do the exact same thing without the worries of allergic reactions or overdoses. IT CAN"T KILL YOU…no matter how much you do. Believe me, if you could overdose I would be dead by now… Don't try to tell me I'm stupid because I have a Masters and I graduated Top of my class. Do your research before you open your mouth and quit listening to the media and money hungry politicians…
On February 24th 2010, Lucky#13 wrote:
Statement:
Marijuana is not as addicting as tobacco
Fact:
It is true that marijuana does not contain nicotine like tobacco does (it is what causes the addiction), but depending on the individual’s mental state and nature it can be argued that being dependent on marijuana is just as likely if not more so for them. This is an arguable topic, as I said depending on the individual, so for one to say one side or the other is true is just ignorant.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Statement:
Tobacco is more harmful than marijuana because it is used more.
Fact:
This argument is supported by the fact that tobacco is used more and therefore overtime is more dangerous. “If 50 million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” Just because it is used more often which causes it to be more harmful now does not mean that it is actually more harmful. If you look at or research the make-up of both substances you will see that both contain harmful substances that target different parts of our body. So if marijuana were legalized it would be just as common as cigarettes and would cause just as much harm if not more. This being because marijuana users do more damage to their lungs in one puff than with a cigarette. They use long inhalations which subject the lungs to smoke for a longer period of time than do cigarettes thus proving how they can be more harmful overtime.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Statement:
Because marijuana is used in medicine it is less harmful than tobacco and even completely safe.
Fact:
Only certain amounts, versions, and chemicals of the marijuana plant are used for medicine and these are not even the ones found in marijuana that is smoked and sold on the street. Large amounts of THC (component that causes the mind-altering effects; the high) are in the street marijuana that many to all users illegally smoke. Also, sometimes marijuana on the street can be mixed with PCP so dealers can make a cheaper and easier profit by giving their customers the “high” effect without having to know what they’re doing when growing and distributing their stash. This obviously by no means is safe. They have specified medical marijuana (Marinol) that is used in very small doses that ease nausea and pain. This is even a controversial issue. Many doctors hesitate to give a prescription for Marinol because not many studies have been done to even prove that it is completely beneficial to a patient in any case due to the natural side effects. It is believed that the prescription is actually making matters worse for the patients but since the drug has just started being used it has not been long enough to record a significant amount of cases to prove this point. In time it will be certain.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Statement:
Marijuana has no side effects to the brain or heart.
Fact:
Marijuana … well just read these articles. It basically explains it. I’m tired of doing all of it! Haha
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1808 http://www.usnodrugs.com/marijuana-harmful.htm
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
OH YA! Also I forgot… but it has been proven that marijuana can affect fertility! Read read read!
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/marijuana-effect-f… …
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/pot/a/blub031013.h… …
On February 24th 2010, Lucky#13 wrote:
it's just ridiculous the kind of examples people are these days especially celebrities. absolutely ridiculous… i mean smoke all you want but don't say it should be legal. that's horrible.
On February 24th 2010, Lucky#13 wrote:
oh and by the way Ashley that comment about how you can't get sick when your high… well weed can eventually break down your T-cells and other important things in your body that protect you from diseases. therefor you can get sick. and more easily. just read through the sights and info i wrote and find out more.
On March 1st 2010, Mike wrote:
fuck you luck#13, you've obviously never smoked weeed before, its the shit. take your anti-marijuana campaign somewhere else.
On March 4th 2010, Anon wrote:
Fuck weed do shrooms!
On March 11th 2010, Tiger Tulip wrote:
Show your support with one of these stickers. Way cool and creative.
On April 23rd 2010, Sam wrote:
I don´t feel alone … LOL … i love smoke a dub
On April 23rd 2010, sarah garland wrote:
i like to smoke weeed it gives me a excellent feeling,
On April 24th 2010, Julie wrote:
This has been an entertaining read this a.m.
I have been a smoker for about 30 years, it saves lives. Stupidity has a way of pissing me off and after I smoke I do not feel like killing them anymore. LOL figuratively speaking of course.
I got my degree HIGH. I would rather have somebody high driving at me then drunk, but alcohol is legal, to a degree. I have never been to high to drive & I have never been in an accident that was of my doing.
I suggest we give the acoholics a joint and make alcohol illegal again. Not sure about the statistics but I believe alcohol has destroyed more lives then marijuana.
On April 24th 2010, les wrote:
i've been enjoying the benefits of canibas for at least 40 some years. I honestly believe that if the federal government understood the medical and taxable benefits of it, health reform would get cheaper with a little help from the reefer smokin americans, who from my veiwpoint are alot of the ones carrying the rich and wealthy politicians and drug manufacturers who extremely selfishly make these policies in washington over fear of losing their senseless battles over rules and profit margins. If we all smoked a little hootie every now and then their would be alot less tension in the world. Can you imagine how much money could be raised on the legalization and taxation of marijuana, on hundreds and millions of AMERICANS. Long live the right to keep and burn hootie.
On May 14th 2010, jimbo wrote:
Gary Johnson for president 2012 (he supports legalization!) look him up please
On May 17th 2010, Todshi wrote:
I think it’s great that celebs are voicing their opinion on marijuana criminalization, but that’s all they can do.
The sad fact is that too many of the wrong people benefit from marijuana being illegal. Money and lies have more power that the truth here in America.
The pharasutical companies, the American penal industry, the drug testing industry and politicans who take legalized bribery…uh, I mean lobby money from those institutions will guarentee that pot will remain illegal for their benefit under the guise of ‘keeping a dangerous drug out of the hands of children’ and other BS rheteric.
And, of course, let’s not forget the drug cartels, who most likely have a strong lobby in Washington as well.
If Jesus Christ was to come down from heaven and indorce marijuana legalization, the would be nailed to the cross again just for doing that.
On May 17th 2010, Buddy wrote:
Concur on the Ron Paul….He needs to be heard and can not due to the Gov. only posting on the news what they want us to hear. If any of you are not informed on Ron Paul and his Campaign for Liberty..check it out..step one
On May 23rd 2010, MaryJane Cannabian wrote:
This is a horrible list. With the exception of Mahar, Corolla & Elders what you’ve posted is some celebrities who toke and a Mayor who still wants to throw users in jail even though he inhaled . While yes, some have spoken here and there about cannabis, as far as being “Proponents”, that’s a far stretch. Post real, super vocal activists who fight publicly for the end of prohibition and then I’ll be impressed.
On May 23rd 2010, MaryJane Cannabian wrote:
Oh and I apologize, Jesse Ventura, at least you had him on the list.
On May 23rd 2010, Crissy Gaidjunas wrote:
I want to thank them all from the bottom of my heart. Coming out of the closet about marijuana is the only thing that I think will help make it safe to use finally, with magnitudes of benefits. The hardest thing for me was, coming out of the closet, now everyone knows. And I am not afraid or worried anymore. Aside from the police breaking into my home and murdering the dogs/cats that I rescue because I smoke weed. It helps with the colon cancer since our fair city doesn’t care that the poor have no health insurance. All of my most admired actors too. Thanks for being so strong and helping our world be green again. Love you all, just a poor woman from Philly, Crissy Gaidjunas
On August 6th 2010, Haha wrote:
I love how the sources of that guy’s reasons for Weed being harmful are from sites that exist for the sole reason of making money on tricking idiots into thinking it is chemically addicting and will kill you :P
On August 26th 2010, twistedred wrote:
watch doctumentary In pot we trust’
On August 26th 2010, twistedred wrote:
why spend billions when you can make billions