Entertainment

The Most Successful Stoners Of All Time

by 5Why

Over the years society has painted a very misleading picture of the type of people who indulge in God’s greatest gift to man–marijuana.

An unemployed porno addict, living with his parents, eating cereal straight out of the box with one hand while scratching his nuts with the other. A burger flipping, socially inept, tie-die wearing, friendless loser…blah blah blah!

These are some of the common stereotypes associated with the term ‘pothead,’ and realistically it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Not only have 42% of Americans admitted to smoking marijuana at some point in their lives, but some of the most successful people in our society have been pot smokers!

We’re not talking about Snoop Dogg or Willie Nelson either…these guys are on the Forbes 500, leading the free world, and proving that all existing pothead stereotypes are nothing more than myths!

12. Sir Richard Branson

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin empire, made his entire multi-billion dollar fortune from absolutely nothing! Branson has publicly stated that he finds nothing wrong with smoking the herb, and would even consider selling it if it were legal! Oh, and he gets high with his 21-year-old son! Boss shit.

11. Rick Steves

Rick Steves...author of 27 top selling European travel guides, host of his own TV show and radio show, and a very outspoken stoner! Rick is a member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and credits marijuana for making him a better travel writer by opening his mind to new things!

10. Aaron Sorkin

To be fair to our fellow stoners...Sorkin may be considered a bit more of a ‘drug addict’ than he is ‘pothead’. His work on The West Wing, both as writer and producer, earned him multiple Emmy Awards, and countless nominations for other awards. Aaron started dabbling with weed back in the late ’80s, has been in and out of rehab numerous times, and was arrested for possession of marijuana, mushrooms and crack in 2001. So yeah, this guy knows how to party…but he still has his shit together!

9. Michael Phelps

Phelps made headlines worldwide when photos of him and a bong surfaced! Since the scandal, Phelps has given a few interviews in which he admitted it was a dumb mistake that would never happen again! We call bullshit! Phelps was hitting that bong like a pro, not kissing a joint like someone with virgin lungs! I guess this means you can become the most decorated athlete of all time...and still get smacked bai!

8. Barack Obama

People are people, regardless of their role in society. As far stoner presidents go, none have admitted to smoking as much pot as Obama. “When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point.” For those who doubt the potential of a pothead, not only can you grow up to be ridiculously smart, you can grow up to be President.

7. Michael Bloomberg

The Mayor of New York’s last name is associated with ‘wealth’ and ‘success’, not ‘failure’ and ‘burnout’. But if you’re one of the many ignorant people who believe a pothead could never amount to shit, you’d have never imagined this was the way our mayor would turn out. So Michael flirt with Mary Jane when he was younger? In his own words “You bet I did. And I enjoyed it!”

6. Ted Turner

Ted is truly one of a kind — he comes off as completely delusional and incapable of even putting on his own underwear. Yet he is a mega-mogul... Ted single-handedly created the 24-hour news cycle with CNN, was named Time’s Man of the Year in 1991, is the largest private land owner in America... oh and he owns the Atlanta Braves. Not quite what you’d expect from a man who had once grown pot in his college dorm room, and heavily fund the Kentucky Hemp Museum.

5. Montel Williams

Montel Williams was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis back in 1999 and was unable to find any sort of medication to suppress his symptoms. Montel decided to give medical marijuana a shot, and claims it worked wonders for him! Despite being perpetually high, Monte still managed to host his own talk show until 2008...when it was unfortunately canceled. Well, he's still got his buddha!

4. Stephen King

The reason we've refrained from including creative types in this list is because they’re all potheads for the most part. Fact: Every actor, musician and artist ever is a stoner. But pumping out 1,000 page novels is a very different process. You can’t just ‘jam out’ The Stand. Arguably one of the most successful novelists in the history of literature, Stephen King has also been one of the most vocal proponents for the legalization of marijuana, classifying laws against Mary Jane as “ridiculous,” and stating that “I think that marijuana should not only be legal, I think it should be a cottage industry.” It all makes sense now...

3. Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Governator is the only person on this list who can be seen blowing one down on video! (Pause.) In the classic documentary Pumping Iron, Arnold is seen smoking, and seemingly enjoying, a joint. And though he may not indulge as he once did...Arnold has presided over California’s recent medical marijuana renaissance. According to Arnold, marijuana “is not a drug, it’s a leaf.”

2. Rihanna

There's nothing more attractive than a successful woman with ambition and a love for God's sweetest plant. Between worldwide tours and releasing platinum albums, Rihanna always finds time to properly medicate. Oh...did we mention she can take a beating too?

1. Steve Jobs

It's been said the Apple co-founder smoked his fair share of reefer and took LSD in his first semester at Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1972. Since dropping out, he went on to become one of the most successful and wealthiest people in our nation's history. In 1984, he received the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan. Fortune also named him CEO of the Decade in 2009 while Forbes ranked him #57 on their list of the World’s Most Powerful People that same year. The Financial Times named Jobs its person of the year for 2010. I’m not sure, but I'm almost certain you can't have those kind of accolades being dumb. Plus, the guy was a hardcore beatles fan.... Rest In Peace Steve!

Top Photo Credit: Getty Images