29/10/2007 00:00:00
Marijuana: Not a drug
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In a joke gone to pot, the governor of California, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, told GQ that marijuana is not a drug.
"That is not a drug. It's a leaf," Schwarzenegger told the magazine. "My
drug was pumping iron, trust me." However, his spokesman assured the
press that the governor was joking.
The action-movie star turned pollie told the British edition of GQ
magazine that he had not taken drugs, even though the former Mr. Olympia
admitted to using marijuana in the 1970s. He was also shown smoking a
cannabis joint in the 1977 documentary "Pumping Iron."
Making reference to former US president Bill Clinton who claimed never
to have inhaled the former bodybuilder stated "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."
The governor made the comments in a lighthearted context, according to
Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's press secretary. McLear also noted the
fact that the interview was conducted by Piers Morgan, one of the judges
on America's Got Talent Morgan and a former British newspaper editor.
"The governor was doing an interview with the host of 'America's Got
Talent,' the newest version of the gong show," McLear said. "I think
it's important to keep that quote in the context of the environment
where it was said."
"Of course the governor understands marijuana is a drug." McLear stated.
"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 interview for the magazine's December issue, the former Conan the
Barbarian actor refused to condemn politicians who decline to answer
questions about drug use, according to reports.
"What would you rather have? A politician taking stuff and not saying,
but making the best decisions and improving things? Or a politician who
names all the drugs he or she has taken but makes lousy decisions for
the country?" Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying.
"A politician's job is to do what's best for the people and to improve
the country, the economy, the environment. Why should I care if a
politician takes sleeping pills every night so long as he can do his
job?" he added.
The joint joke would easily confuse hopeful hemp farmers, as
Schwarzenegger just vetoed the Industrial Hemp Farming act again earlier
this month, despite a redrafted version to address his concerns.
The bill would authorise farmers in four counties to grow plots of
nonpsychoactive hemp as a pilot project, but has no effect on federal
legislation.
"I would like to support the expansion of a new agricultural commodity
in this State " Schwarzenegger said in an online statement.
"Unfortunately, I am very concerned that this bill would give legitimate
growers a false sense of security and a belief that production of
'industrial hemp' is somehow a legal activity under federal law."
In a further revelation in his GQ interview, it turns out that President
George W. Bush didn't make the Running Man's list of greatest leaders in
history.
"I would say that I was ... very fond of his father. I worked for
President Bush Sr., and he was a great man."
"I think his son does some great things and there are some other things
I don't agree with."
Schwarzenegger did however name former British Prime Minister Tony
Blair, former South African President Nelson Mandela, Presidents John F.
Kennedy and Ronald Reagan and ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as
contenders for the title.
US: http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2007/oct/29/marijuana-not-drug/
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12961
Author:
thedaily via UKCIA
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