Guess who made the list? The top 50 most influential marijuana consumers

President Barack Obama said in a 2014 interview with the New Yorker: “As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.” (Andrew Harnik, Associated Press)

Notable names include President Barack Obama, LeBron James, Bill Gates, Rihanna and ... Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper?

By Ricardo Baca

One of the largest marijuana advocacy organizations in the United States released a list Wednesday that ranks who it thinks are the most successful and influential Americans to ever ingest cannabis — and some of the names on the list might just surprise you.
“About one out of every two Americans has used marijuana, including a whole lot of very successful people,” said Mason Tvert, director of communications at the Marijuana Policy Project.

“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.”
According to the MPP, the list of currently living notable cannabis consumers is meant to “identify individuals who have used marijuana and achieved high levels of success or influence.”

To qualify for the list, they must be a U.S. citizen and have ingested cannabis at least once in their life. They don’t necessarily support marijuana law reform.
“In addition to potentially becoming our next president, these marijuana consumers are playing a major role in the national political dialogue,” said Tvert. “Win or lose, they are guiding the debate and influencing the positions of others both within and outside of their parties.”
And so, the Marijuana Policy Project’s Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Consumers:

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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

Morgan Freeman, and a lemur. (Richard Shotwell, Invision/AP)

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

Two notable marijuana consumers in this group: From left, designer Jeremy Scott, Miley Cyrus, Jerzey Dean and Whoopi Goldberg hang out baskstage at Milk Studios in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014. Dean is Goldberg’s granddaughter. (Chelsea Lauren, Getty Images)

45. Miley Cyrus
46. Jennifer Aniston
47. Matthew McConaughey
48. Snoop Dogg
49. Hugh Hefner
50. Maureen Dowd
Wait, Willie Nelson’s not on the list? We tip our hat to the fearless cannabis advocate