The largest marijuana policy organization in the United States released its annual ranking Wednesday of the top 50 most influential marijuana consumers, with President Barack Obama topping the list.
While Obama comes first, the second place is captured by the category of 2016 presidential hopefuls, a category which includes eight candidates, who have stated that they’ve experimented with marijuana in the past, notably Jeb Bush, Lincoln Chafee, Ted Cruz, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Bernie Sanders and Rick Santorum. Many of the candidates expressed regret that they had tried the drug. Oprah Winfrey landed third place this year, with Bill Clinton coming directly after in fourth.
“About one out of every two Americans has used marijuana, including a whole lot of very successful people,” said Mason Tvert, the Marijuana Policy Project’s director of communications, in a statement. “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.”
In order to create the list, the Marijuana Policy Project borrowed the criteria from Out Magazine used to assess the top 50 LGBT Americans, such as “power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and a person’s media profile.” For MPP, individuals chosen have to be alive, U.S. citizens, and need to have consumed marijuana at least once in their life, regardless of their current views on marijuana reform.
“We hope this list will make people question some of the anti-marijuana propaganda they’ve been hearing for so long,” Tvert said. “Millions of adults enjoy consuming marijuana for many of the same reasons that adults enjoy consuming alcohol. The only thing that makes marijuana consumers more likely to become ‘losers’ are the legal penalties they face just for using it.”
As a change from last year’s ranking, pop icon Justin Bieber and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin no longer make the list.
Here are the top 25 out of 50:
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
Follow Jonah Bennett on Twitter
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
