Opinions - 'Marijuana is not a drug, it's a leaf,' says Schwarzenegger

[enquirewithin]

Independent. Published: 29 October 2007
By Ciar Byrne, Arts and Media Correspondent

Already facing enough problems with the wild fires that have swept California, the state's governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may have stepped into a new row by claiming that marijuana is not a drug. In an interview with GQ magazine, the Hollywood star turned governor of California insisted: "I didn't take any drugs."


The interviewer, former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, put it to the star that he had admitted smoking marijuana in the past. In Pumping Iron, the bodybuilding documentary which launched his career 30 years ago, he was shown taking a drag on a spliff.
"That is not a drug. It's a leaf," said Austrian-born Mr Schwarzenegger, 60. "My drug was pumping iron, trust me," he added.


When George Butler's critically acclaimed 1977 documentary Pumping Iron was re-released in 2002, before Mr Schwarzenegger ran for governor of California, he was unconcerned by the scene showing him smoking marijuana, saying – in a pointed reference to former US president Bill Clinton who claimed never to have inhaled: "I did smoke a joint and I did inhale. The bottom line is that's what it was in the Seventies, that's what I did. I have never touched it since." Mr Schwarzenegger said that it was not necessarily a matter of public interest whether politicians had taken class-A drugs.
He said: "What would you rather have? A politician taking the stuff and not saying, but making the best decisions and improving things? Or a politician who names the drugs he or she has taken but makes lousy decisions for the country?"


The Republican governor, renowned for his green policies, said Washington had not done enough on the environment. "So we pick up the slack and show the rest of the world America is not just Washington. There are 600 mayors in America who have joined the Kyoto treaty. For us, it is very important that America gets back the great reputation it once had."


He said: "I think we have to do everything we can as a country to get out of the Iraq war, and to take a lead on the environment."


Despite his insistence that the US must finish the war in Iraq, Mr Schwarzenegger included Tony Blair in a list of the greatest leaders in history, alongside Nelson Mandela, John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

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Yahoo News

Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's press secretary, said the governor made the comments in a lighthearted context, noting his interviewer was Piers Morgan, one of the judges on "America's Got Talent."

..."Of course the governor understands marijuana is a drug. It's like when he goes on Leno or the Daily Show, if you took something like that out of context, it might seem shocking but it was in a silly entertainment context," he added.

[FuBai]

I love the contrast between the closing comment and your signature...

[Lunar Loops]

Sorry, the funny category is the only place that this could really be placed. Find it very hard to take anything this man says seriously (which is unfortunate in this case). Just look at his list of political idols. "I'll blow back"

This from The Times of India of all places:

Marijuana is not a drug: Arnie

"That is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me," the Independent quoted him, as saying.


Arnold Schwarzenegger has raised eyebrows in the US by claiming that marijuana is not a drug.

In an interview with GQ magazine, the Hollywood star turned governor of California insisted that he had not taken drugs, even though he has acknowledged using marijuana in the 1970s and was shown smoking a joint in the 1977 documentary "Pumping Iron."

"That is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me," the Independent quoted him, as saying.

The 60-year-old also refused to condemn politicians who took drugs and said it was not necessarily a matter of public interest.

However, Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's press secretary, said that the governor made the comments in a very light-hearted context, asserting his interviewer was Piers Morgan, one of the judges on "America's Got Talent”.

"The governor was doing an interview with the host of 'America's Got Talent,' the newest version of the gong show. I think it's important to keep that quote in the context of the environment where it was said,” McLear said.

"Of course the governor understands marijuana is a drug. It's like when he goes on Leno or the Daily Show, if you took something like that out of context, it might seem shocking but it was in a silly entertainment context," he added.

In the same interview, Schwarzenegger listed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as one of the greatest leaders in history, along with former South African President Nelson Mandela, Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan and ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Asked if he would include President George W. Bush on the list, Schwarzenegger, who is a Republican, said: "I would say that I was ... very fond of his father. I worked for President Bush Sr., and he was a great man."

[trptamene]

Originally Posted by shroomonger

However, Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's press secretary, said that the governor made the comments in a very light-hearted context, asserting his interviewer was Piers Morgan, one of the judges on "America's Got Talent”.

"The governor was doing an interview with the host of 'America's Got Talent,' the newest version of the gong show. I think it's important to keep that quote in the context of the environment where it was said,” McLear said.

"Of course the governor understands marijuana is a drug. It's like when he goes on Leno or the Daily Show, if you took something like that out of context, it might seem shocking but it was in a silly entertainment context," he added.

He should fire that person for sticking words in his mouth.

[pyroarchy]

Hahaa gotta love the governator Atleast he gave it a fair review, instead of being like OMG its ruining our youths! Ya kno

[Revancheshepherd]

yet he vetoed the hemp bill in california

[Nature Boy]

Reminds me of Chris Morris in the Brass Eye drugs episode saying: "Some people say alcohol is a drug. It's not a drug, it's a drink!" and then starts sipping on the first pint of a dozen.

[enquirewithin]

Despite his well known smoking in the past (?), Schwarzenegger's record with medical marijuana is mixed. He has also vetoed Hemp Bills-- not allowing hemp in California.

Marijuana activists rally in downtown LA, want end to raids

The Associated Press

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_7...nclick_check=1

LOS ANGELES—About 200 people on Thursday protested federal raids on cannabis clinics and urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to compel the Bush administration to back off.....

"An attack on safe access is an attack on patients," said Don Duncan, a man whose Hollywood dispensary, California Patient's Group, was shut down by the Drug Enforcement Administration in July. "Los Angeles is where we're going to win the war for safe access in California."

In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, which legalized the sale and use marijuana for medicinal purposes, but the drug is still considered illegal under federal law.

Opponents of medical marijuana believe the dispensaries attract crime and make it easier for people, not just those with serious illnesses, to gain access to the drug.

Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, a pro-medical marijuana group, said Schwarzenegger should coordinate with the 12 other governors whose states have legalized medical marijuana to send a message to Washington.

"We are tired of coming and protesting about our medicine," Sherer said.

[trptamene]

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