Cannabis has been consumed by some of the largest historical figures, including presidents. The plant was made federally illegal by the United States government in 1937, but consumption of cannabis was not uncommon.
Several United States presidents saw the value of the psychoactive plant and have used it in some form or another, even George Washington. Fulfill your burning curiosity about which presidents smoked cannabis with this list detailing the history behind our pothead presidents.
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List of Presidents Who Consumed Cannabis
Hemp was a common crop in the early days of the Republic, and many of the Founding Fathers owned hemp fields, as is well known. Hemp was harvested and used to manufacture rope and clothes in the early days; it was also recognized for curing impotence and some other ailments.
The first US president, George Washington, used to grow hemp and recognized it for its medical properties.
We can confidently assume that at least four modern presidents used cannabis, based on documents and research. Others include everything from speculation to hemp usage. The story about the Founding Fathers having a close association with cannabis is probably one of the most widely circulated pot myths.
The smoking habits of the founding fathers will certainly stay a mystery lost in time, despite being nearly impossible to verify but a lot of fun to think about. Here is a compilation of our findings of 15 presidents, on the other hand, who were all supporters of our favorite herb in their own ways.
1. Barack Obama
Let’s talk about one of the most recent presidents in the United States! During a recent interview in March, Barack Obama told David Letterman that he occasionally smoked marijuana in his teenage years.
Barack Obama smoked cannabis every year of college. “That was the point,” he noted, after mentioning he inhaled every time. He has noted that smoking calmed him down so he could think better.
During an interview with a group of magazine editors, Obama acknowledged that he inhaled when he was a kid. In “Dreams From My Father” (1995), Obama said he had used marijuana and cocaine (“perhaps a little shot”) before he entered into politics. Obama is by far one of the most well-known presidents who smoked weed.
2. George Washington
George Washington has the distinction of being the first president of the United States, as well as the most enthusiastic supporter of cannabis.
Washington’s farm included a hemp field, and he encouraged growing this plant for industrial production. He looked to hemp as a substitute for Jeffersonian America’s dependence on cotton – there was a high risk in importing so much cotton.
In 1793, George Washington wrote a letter to John Bartram in which he remarked on hemp use – “make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seeds and sow them again in fresh ground.” This shows that this U.S. president understood that cannabis has several therapeutic properties and is a plant worth exploring. Aside from the psychoactive properties, hemp made for an excellent cotton replacement.
As one of America’s founding fathers, George Washington, owned crops of cannabis at his Mount Vernon estate used as a source for hemp. George Washington began growing hemp at Mount Vernon in 1765. He used it to make ropes and canvas tarps.
This is often cited as the first documentation of marijuana cultivation in America. In his diaries, Washington noted the use of cannabis to help cure toothaches and the inflammation of malaria. Washington became dedicated to the crop and learned all sorts of new farming techniques and technologies for cultivating and processing it.
3. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln, in office from 1860 to 1865, was well-known for consuming cannabis at certain points in life. The 16th American president grew crops of hemp during much of his presidency.
Abraham Lincoln and his contemporaries enjoyed smoking cannabis. Abraham Lincoln was one of the nation’s most popular rural indulgences throughout the 1800s. It is possible that, with little else to do after a day’s labor on a farm, people turned to marijuana as a form of relief for their symptoms of depression, anxiety, nausea, or simply boredom due to its psychoactive properties.
One quote about cannabis is commonly attributed to our sixteenth president: “Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica.” However, there are no sources verifying this widespread quote to be accurate.
Abraham Lincoln, one of the most famous presidents in American history to promote the prohibition of slavery, was also known for commonly wearing pants made from hemp fibers. Because he was an avid grower of the cannabis plant, many would assume he has plenty to smoke in addition to using it for the hemp fibers.
4. John Adams
John Adams is an essential member of the founding fathers who created America and served from 1825-1829, fighting for American independence and signing the Declaration of Independence.
Adams once said that he “smoked” cannabis with others, including his wife Abigail, during their time at college in 1764. Claiming cannabis use helped him during severe health conditions, Adams gave this statement: “This may seem a strange instance, but it is true nevertheless – That a single hemp joint has often given me a day’s relief from spasm or neuralgia or both which nothing else could.”
Many people don’t know that he didn’t always view smoking pot as a social evil like other American presidents. He used it frequently to work through creative problems and take care of his health.
5. Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was hardly the first president to use cannabis, nor was he even all that radical by doing so. His time as President coincided with an early effort to have hemp made into fabric within the United States.
Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States from 1801-1809, frequently used cannabis. He invented the machine to process hemp for clothing production, he had experimented with it as a medicinal plant for nerve and introduced laws related to the cultivation of cereals to limit workers’ exposure to flour dust.
Thomas Jefferson was a cultured and educated man, but he supported the hemp experiment for several reasons. He believed that paper was “less liable to be injured by damp” when made from hemp and helped create the political climate in which cannabis could be regulated.
Jefferson wrote extensively on the medicinal benefits [of cannabis] and the intellectual powers it can give. He claimed it “produces almost all the same effects of beer” and that using cannabis was a safer alternative than drinking alcohol.
Many people don’t know that Thomas Jefferson used cannabis, and he even wrote a magazine article about it. The article described how Indian hemp was a private remedy for many. He argues the importance of producing the crop as an agricultural crop being so great that subsidies may be necessary to make it economical.
6. James Madison
James Madison, the American president who wrote the U.S. Constitution, was known for his love of marijuana. Madison was in office from 1809 to 1817.
Madison grew hemp on his estate and helped to start what would become one of America’s biggest advocates on marijuana use in this era. James Madison was such an avid fan that he grew hemp on the White House lawn and grew it in large quantities for garment production. For his regular vapor baths, he used tobacco leaves and hemp oil mixed with water.
James Madison used cannabis while he was preparing for debates in Congress. He helped pass the resolution that declared all of the plants in the natural world, including hemp and marijuana plants, to be the property of the American people.
It was recorded that Madison brought back the habit of smoking hashish from France and continued smoking till he was 73.
7. James Monroe
James Monroe, president from 1817 to 1825, eventually became the ambassador of France after his term, where he lived out the rest of his life happily consuming hashish and cannabis. He is known to be the founding father of the ‘Monroe Doctrine’.
8. Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson, president from 1829 to 1837, was known to have smoked cannabis throughout his time serving in the military. There are not many other details surrounding his usage.
9. Zachary Taylor
Presidents of the United States who have used marijuana, according to Dr. Burke, president of the American Historical Reference Society and consultant for the Smithsonian Institute was publicized in Ann Arbor Sun, August 21, 1921. The publication was titled “7 President Smoked it.”
He listed names of former presidents including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, and Franklin Pierce. Franklin Pierce was a soldier in the Mexican-American War before running for President. He claimed in his home letters that marijuana smoking was “about the only good thing” about the war.
10. Franklin Pierce
Both Taylor and Jackson were claimed to have smoked marijuana alongside their troops; however, the evidence isn’t as well established as prior entries.
11. Franklin D. Roosevelt
In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt prescribed a treatment he dubbed a “soak” to treat his chronic headache and stomach pains. The “soak” consisted of shots of Hennessy cognac with two to five milligrams of cannabis nestled in each thigh before going to sleep. This “soak” worked wonders for the President because Harvard Medical School investigating Franklin D. Roosevelt concluded cannabis was one of the medicines used to offset his paralysis.
Roosevelt used cannabis for his emphysema. It was not commonly known at the time, but his affliction is likely what led to his passing on April 12, 1945. Cannabis is still used to treat asthma, arthritis, cancer, epilepsy, and many other serious illnesses today.
When his doctors prescribed him morphine, Roosevelt turned to cannabis instead. He had a standing order with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which told him to keep around him at all times. His only condition was that he got the cannabis good enough to suit his taste buds.
In 2002, a letter from Eleanor Roosevelt to her friend was released, which confirmed Franklin D. Roosevelt’s use of cannabis. Instead of being staunchly against the release of the letter, this presidential lady went on to dispel the stigma around cannabis use, stating that “it did not seem deleterious to health and was certainly a more pleasant experience than alcohol.”
12. John F Kennedy
John F. Kennedy served one term from 1961 until his assassination in 1963 when he was 46 years old. Kennedy publicly condemned smoking cannabis. However, privately, John F. Kennedy was known to be a consumer of cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes.
John F Kennedy was not a stranger to cancer–some sources say he had cancer related to polonium called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He is said to have tried smoking some potent marijuana while recovering from illnesses in his younger days.
John F. Kennedy was the first and only American President to be photographed smoking cannabis. He was reported to have smoked cannabis with members of the “Rat Pack” such as Judy Garland and Peter Lawford (Kennedy had a lifelong interest in drug experimentation) by Washington Post reporter James Truitt.
Kennedy’s presidential medical records, now released for research purposes, include details of regular cannabinoid use to help control chronic back pain.
13. Jimmy Carter
American President Jimmy Carter was in office from 1977 to 1981.
Although there is no direct evidence of Jimmy Carter ever partaking in cannabis usage, it is a well-known fact that he admitted to his son smoking pot on the roof of the White House with Willie Nelson.
Jimmy Carter was an avid supporter of the cause of cannabis decriminalization and was well-known for his opposition to Nixon’s War on Drugs.
14. Bill Clinton
President Clinton also admitted to smoking cannabis in the 1960s and partly explained his reasoning by saying it never harmed him. He also cited cannabis as a “temporary escape” from an “unbelievably stressful time” but now believes marijuana isn’t the answer.
During Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign on March 29, 1992, while responding to what was referred to as a “surgically worded question,” Bill Clinton said: “I have never broken a state law,” “But when I was in England, I tried marijuana once or twice, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t inhale it, and I never tried it again.”
15. George W. Bush
George W. Bush, president from 2001 to 2009. Bush admitted to trying drugs as a young man, but he says he quit after his daughter was born.
He told his biographer: “I wouldn’t answer the marijuana question. You know how I am about pot.” In the aftermath of his father’s presidency, George W. Bush himself admitted to using cannabis during that time in his life.
In a biography by Jean Edward Smith, Bush allegedly revealed, “I would say maybe I smoked marijuana once or twice.” Bush used medicinal cannabis to alleviate chronic back pain, he stated in the biography.
More on Cannabis
Cannabis is the common term for just one plant, the Scientific name is Cannabis Sativa. The word cannabis comes from the Greek words “kaná” (hemp) and “bis” (rag or flax), while Sativa means “cultivated.”
Cannabis is an incredible resource since it has the power to stimulate creativity, enhance relaxation and improve mental functioning – things high performers enjoy. But with cannabis comes a slew of rules – not only from the U.S. government but also from society.
Marijuana is a drug made from cannabis, which is a product of the hemp plant. It gained popularity in the 1960s and 70s when it became widely used by resistance movements and hippies. Cannabis is a plant that has been found to have medicinal effects for thousands of years.
TLDR: US Presidents and Cannabis
- Cannabis has been consumed by humans for millennia, even before it was made illegal. Several U.S. presidents throughout history used marijuana.
- George Washington, the first U.S. president, grew hemp and recognized its therapeutic properties.
- Thomas Jefferson supported hemp cultivation and wrote extensively about its medicinal benefits.
- Other presidents who at some point tried out marijuana include Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
A significant number of American presidents throughout history have smoked marijuana at some point. One might wonder what you stand to gain by knowing these facts, well, probably nothing much, unfortunately.
Our guide is to create an awareness of how far back hemp has been in usage and how long we have to go to ensure its legalization for medicinal purposes. Even though people still stand against its legalization in some states in the US, its presence has been documented as far back as the 18th century.