ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: CANNABIS NOT A DRUG

Arnold Schwarzenegger has sparked controversy by telling a
magazine that marijuana is not a drug.

Although the Californian governor's spokesman insisted the comment was
meant as a joke, the statement comes amid a fierce debate over whether
cannabis use is not being taken seriously enough.

Despite having admitted taking marijuana in the 1970s, Schwarzenegger
told GQ magazine that he had never taken drugs.

"That is not a drug. It's a leaf," Schwarzenegger told his interviewer
Piers Morgan. "My drug was pumping iron, trust me."

Schwarzenegger also refused to condemn politicians who decline to
answer questions about drug use.

"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 said. "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. I

Asked to name his greatest leaders in history, Schwarzenegger placed
Tony Blair alongside Nelson Mandela, John F. Kennedy and Mikhail Gorbachev.

He was more reticent about the achievement on fellow Republican George
W Bush.

"I would say that I was ... very fond of his father. I worked for
President Bush Sr., and he was a great man," Schwarzenegger said. "I
think his son does some great things and there are some other things I
don't agree with."