12 United States Presidents That Smoked Weed

7. Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon inaugurated the American war on drugs with his “tough on crime” stance and racist paranoia about cannabis.

The Nixon Tapes, which are now a matter of public record, are full of rants and raves from Nixon about the need to make a strong statement on marijuana enforcement.

On those tapes Nixon can be heard together cannabis users, homosexuals, Jewish people, Communists, and other perceived “dissidents.” He wanted to declare war on all of them.

“We need, and I use the word ‘all out war,’ on all fronts…we have to attack on all fronts,” Nixon said on the day before a report came out which recommended decriminalizing pot.

In private, Nixon’s comments revealed even deeper prejudice and ignorance.

He also held the belief that while people use marijuana to “get high,” a person “drinks to have fun.”

8. Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, who would pick up the baton from Nixon when it came to prosecuting marijuana offenders, definitely never smoked weed.

That would have upset his wife Nancy Reagan, the woman who made “Just Say No” a national tagline.

Reagan often appeared on national television to spread his misinformation about the health dangers of cannabis.

“Leading medical researchers are coming to the conclusion that marijuana, pot, grass, whatever you want to call it, is probably the most dangerous drug in the United States.

“And we haven’t begun to find out all of the ill effects, but they are permanent ill effects,” Reagan said.