Top 10 Smartest Marijuana Users in the World
Marijuana is one of the most controversial drugs out there. In the modern world, it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t tried it at least once. Some European governments have legalized it, others fiercely resist, and for many South American countries, marijuana plantations make up a huge part of the economy. In America, it’s prescribed to cancer patients for pain relief, while millions of dollars are spent annually on anti-cannabis campaigns. On both sides of the ocean, we’re told that weed turns people into drooling idiots. We decided to challenge this ridiculous claim. Without promoting drug use (since drugs are out of fashion anyway), here are some well-known facts about some of the smartest people on Earth who have openly enjoyed a good smoke.
Steve Jobs
The head and founder of Apple repeatedly told journalists that he was expelled from Reed College in Portland for abusing marijuana and LSD. Yet, soon after, he became one of America’s most successful and wealthy people. In 1984, he received the Medal for Technology Innovation from President Ronald Reagan. In 2007, Fortune magazine named him the most powerful businessman in the world, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (who, by the way, is also known for his cannabis use) inducted Jobs into the California Hall of Fame. Fortune also named him “CEO of the Decade” in 2009, and Forbes ranked him #57 among the world’s most powerful people. In 2010, the Financial Times named him Person of the Year. Steve was also a huge Beatles fan, a former lover of Joan Baez, and a close friend of Bono from U2.
Francis Crick
The Nobel Prize winner for discovering the double-helix structure of DNA admitted that he was “on acid” at the moment of his discovery. It wasn’t his first or last experience with LSD. He was also a co-founder of the Soma medical foundation and advocated for marijuana legalization, claiming it helped expand the boundaries of abstract thinking.
Carl Sagan
The astronomer, astrophysicist, astronaut, and pioneer in exobiology who helped launch the search for extraterrestrial intelligence never hid the fact that he used marijuana or hashish daily. If you think this made him less intelligent, think again—he won a Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy, wrote a bestselling novel, and published over 500 scientific papers and articles. He co-founded the Planetary Society and received numerous scientific awards. Sagan believed he owed much of his success to his “expanded consciousness.” He was also the first to predict “nuclear winter” after the use of atomic weapons. The movie “Contact” with Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey is based on his screenplay.
Oliver Sacks
If you’ve seen the movie “Awakenings” with Robin Williams, you know something about Oliver Sacks’s work. He was a neurologist, and the film is based on his book of the same name. He also wrote the famous “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.” Sacks was an Oxford graduate and a professor of neurology at Columbia University, with numerous awards and degrees in practical neurology. He openly admitted to using marijuana, not just to relax, but as a gateway to the flow of consciousness and exploring other minds.
Richard Feynman
One of the developers of the atomic bomb, Feynman was a creator of quantum physics and a Nobel Prize winner in physics. In the 1960s, he participated in sensory deprivation experiments with his friend John Lilly and later described his vivid experiences with ketamine and marijuana in his book “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” After coming out of his “stoned” state, he received the Nobel Prize for his work in quantum electrodynamics.
Albert Einstein
The Nobel laureate, founder of theoretical physics, public figure, and humanist, and author of the theory of relativity (E = mc2), wrote over 300 scientific works and 150 books and articles on history and philosophy. He believed that moderate marijuana use was much better than alcohol, as it didn’t destroy one’s personality. After moving to the U.S., he became a vocal opponent of the law banning marijuana, arguing in Congress that prohibition would undermine government prestige, reduce public trust, and increase crime.
Sergey Brin
Co-founder of Google, Brin holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a PhD from Stanford. His father is a math professor at Maryland, and his mother is a NASA scientist. He has said that the idea for a “large-scale hypertext internet search” came to him while high on hashish. Brin was recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering and received the Marconi Prize for “outstanding achievements in engineering.” Like Jobs, he is among the world’s wealthiest people.
Sir Richard Branson
Despite the “Sir” title, Branson isn’t automatically part of the nobility. He ranks 236th among the world’s richest people and is the founder of the Virgin empire, which includes everything from mobile phones to music stores, airlines, and a Formula 1 racing team. Branson not only smokes himself but also introduced his son to it. He has publicly stated he sees nothing wrong with marijuana use, has advocated for legalization, and once said he’d gladly sell it if it were legal.
Ted Turner
Ted Turner is one of those rare billionaires who can’t put on pants without help but has a mind that works at 1000%. He single-handedly created the 24-hour news channel CNN and made it a reality. In 1992, Time named him “Man of the Year.” He is the largest private landowner in the U.S., owns several TV channels, and the Atlanta Braves baseball team. Turner grew marijuana in his college dorm room and co-founded the Kentucky Hemp Museum with Woody Harrelson.
Stephen King
We didn’t include many creative personalities in this list, though most actors, musicians, and artists are known for their marijuana use. But Stephen King is different. His IQ is 175 (the average is 90–120). He’s written over 50 books and achieved a level of popularity no other writer has reached, selling over 500 million copies of his novels in every language. King is a vocal supporter of legalization, calling anti-drug laws “ridiculous” and saying, “I not only think marijuana should be legalized, I think it should be a cottage industry.” Now you know where his wild imagination comes from!