#420Empire: Marijuana, the Gateway Drug: To Success?

Pot smokers are not typically synonymous with success, but should they be? This post is a compilation of pieces from articles of 6 very successful people that have surprisingly been on record for using marijuana.

1. Michael Phelps- (born June 30, 1985) is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions. In early 2009, Phelps admitted to “behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment” following the publication of a photo by the British tabloid, The News of the World, showing him using a bong, a device used for smoking tobacco or marijuana. Following an investigation, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced on February 16 that Phelps would not be prosecuted in connection with the incident because there was not enough evidence.

2. Sir Richard Branson- (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies. In 1970, he set up an audio record mail-order business. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson’s Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways and expanded theVirgin Records music label. Branson is the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom, according to the Forbes 2011 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of US$4.2 billion.

The extrovert billionaire says he smoked cannabis with model son Sam, now 21, during a surfing holiday in Australia.

Sir Richard, 57, “I went with my son on his gap year. We had some nights where we laughed our heads off for eight hours.”

3. Michael Bloomberg- (born February 14, 1942) is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States. He is the founder and 88% owner of Bloomberg L.P., a financial news and information services media company. Although Bloomberg’s NYC police department leads the nation in Marijuana arrests, Bloomberg admits that he used to be a pot smoker. Being mayor can be such a drag. A pro-marijuana group is using a pot-positive quote uttered by Mayor Bloomberg last year, in a $500,000 ad campaign.

“Great. I’m thrilled,” Bloomberg quipped sarcastically when asked about the ad after a joint press conference with the Fire Department. Bloomberg bluntly admitted to New York magazine in April 2001 he had smoked marijuana in the past – and definitely inhaled.

“You bet I did, and I enjoyed it,” Bloomberg said at the time.

4. Ted Turner- (born November 19, 1938) is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television. As a philanthropist, he is known for his $1 billion gift to support UN causes, which created the United Nations Foundation, a public charity to broaden support for the UN. Turner serves as Chairman of the United Nations Foundation board of directors.

Turner was approached in 1998 by Cable Sitters, a media-monitoring group which complained that Scooby-Doo is “laced with subliminal drug references” and demanded that Turner’s Cartoon Network stop broadcasting re-runs of the series.

Turner wisely ignored them, just like he didn’t cave in to pressure from the DEA in 1996, after his CNN network broadcast a documentary on marijuana called Higher Times. The DEA demanded that Turner give them “rebuttal time,” to the news broadcast, but Turner refused.

In fact, Ted Turner has been known as a toker since his youth ? he even got caught growing marijuana in his dorm room at school!

5. Stephen King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books. As of 2011, King has written and published 49 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, five non-fiction books, and nine collections of short stories. Many of his stories are set in his home state of Maine.

King supports the legalization of marijuana. “I think marijuana should be legal,” King told American media. A powerful statement for someone who has sold 300 – 350 million copies of his books worldwide. Which have been reprinted into other media such as comic books, movies and television series.

King cites economics as great reason to legalize marijuana.

A resident of Maine, King said the financial boom, “would be wonderful for the state of Maine.” He added, “I think it should be a cottage industry.”

6. Arnold Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American former professionalbodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011.

This Video says it all.