Would Oprah Favor Legal Cannabis?
After an impassioned acceptance speech for the Cecil B. Demille Award at Sunday’s Golden Globes, speculation has been growing as to whether or not billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey will make a presidential run in 2020. Reactions from politicians and the general public are mixed, although many Democrats believe that an Oprah 2020 campaign could possibly be successful arguing, “Winfrey is one of the few people on Earth who could pull the focus of national media away from Trump in the heat of a presidential campaign — or ‘out-Trump Trump’.” But where does the former talk show host stand on legal weed?
Oprah Previously Confirmed Using Marijuana in the Past
While Winfrey has never given an official stance on cannabis, she has admitted smoking pot in her past. In a 2013 interview with Andy Cohen on “Watch What Happens: Live,” Winfrey said that the last time she smoked weed was in 1982. When Cohen jokingly suggested the two “hang out after the show,” she laughed and said “Okay! I hear it’s (cannabis) gotten better!”
The topic once again was brought up during a 2015 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. When asked, “What do you think about smoking weed? Are you smoking?” Oprah replied “Actually, no. I haven’t smoked weed in 30 years. Really.” Letterman himself admitted to giving up cannabis once he realized it he was “eating too much ice cream” and that “it makes you feel dumb, smoking the weed.”
Winfrey Once Confessed to Smoking Crack Cocaine
While an “Oprah for President” campaign announcement is really just an Internet rumor at the time, if it comes to fruition, the topic of drugs will surely come up. In 1996, during a segment about mothers with drug problems, Oprah told the audience of her daytime TV show that she had, in fact, smoked crack cocaine. Considering that Barack Obama was questioned about his previous cannabis use (which the former president spoke openly about in his memoir), Winfrey’s admittal will almost certainly be scrutinized.
Knowing that Winfrey has been candid about her previous drug use, and that it did not affect her ability to build a global media empire, it could be speculated that she would ultimately favor cannabis legalization.
