List of United States politicians who have acknowledged cannabis use

Before the prohibition of cannabis in the United States, some of the nation's Founding Fathers and presidents grew hemp.

[1] Harry J. Anslinger, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, responded to political pressure to ban marijuana at a nationwide level.

[3] In Leary v. United States (1969), the U.S. Supreme Court held the Marihuana Tax Act to be unconstitutional since it violated the Fifth Amendment.

However, United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative (2001) rejected the common-law medical necessity defense to crimes enacted under the Controlled Substances Act because Congress concluded that cannabis has "no currently accepted medical use" and Gonzales v. Raich (2005) concluded that the Commerce Clause of Article One of the U.S. Constitution allowed the federal government to ban the use of cannabis, including medical use.

Today, cannabis remains classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, and possession is punishable by up to one year in jail and a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first conviction.

A painting of a man with white hair wearing a white ruffled shirt and dark coat
George Washington , the first president and one of the Founding Fathers, was known to have grown hemp.
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Thomas Jefferson , the third president
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Kamala Harris , the 49th vice president
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George W. Bush , the 43rd president
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Al Gore , the 45th vice president
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Barack Obama , the 44th president
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Sarah Palin , the 9th Alaska governor