There were many reports in the American underground
press in 1970-71 that the first Presidents smoked marijuana. These stories were
soon debunked (see, for example, Ronald G. Shafer, “Presidents and Pot, Or,
Were Washington and Jefferson Stoned?” The
Wall Street Journal, 20 October 1971, p. 1; “Did Washington Smoke Rope?” Rolling Stone, 25 November 1971, p. 6),
but images of Washington holding a joint were too good to give up.
Joint Issue (East
Lansing, MI), vol. 2, no. 2, Feb. 14-28, 1971, front page.
Berkeley Tribe, vol. 5, no. 25, July 30-Aug 6, 1971, p.
12.
Mike Aldrich, “Acapulco Gold.” Ann Arbor Sun, no. 26, March 2-16, 1972, p. 12.
“Sixth Annual
Fourth of July Smoke-In at the Ellipse, Washington, D.C.” A 1975 poster depicts
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington smoking joints.
Madison Kaleidoscope (WI), vol. 2, no. 21, 21 October
1970, p. 10.
