I was watching “the 100 scariest movie moments today” a documentary interspersed with lots of interviews with actors, directors and writers of horror. The number #6 movie was “The Shining” by Stephen King and the first words out of Mr. King’s mouth was that he was a major “head” during the 60’s. He clarified his statement by saying, “not ahead of someone but a person who tripped on LSD, mushroom and smoked pot all the time. This got me wondering how many famous successful people took or take drugs but manage to keep their shit together. People who came to mind were Marion Barry, Bill Clinton, George Bush, Dr. Carl Sagan, Dr. Francis Crick, H.R.H. Prince Harry, Dr. Richard Feynman, Steve Jobs just to name a few. Does anyone else come to your mind?
Remember kids don’t do drugs or you’ll never amount to anything! (Except president, mayor, future king, Nobel prize winner or computer mogul)
In the 19th century, from about 1860 on, there were many cocaine infusions and tonics generally available - Queen Victoria was apparently a user of such a potion called Vin Mariani.
Obviously a lot of actors have taken drugs - Robert Mitchum did time in jail for marijuana possession, and Cary Grant got into LSD in a big way.
There’s no evidence that Bill Clinton was a regular drug user, just that he tried pot and didn’t even inhale.
Marion Barry did not “keep his shit together,” he was convicted of drug possession and did time in jail, and was henceforth widely considered to be an idiot.
What does “keep their shit together mean”? If you mean, never show any signs of drug use to the public, the list is smaller. If you mean keep producing well-publicized work and take drugs, then the list is endless.
How would you rate these people?
Robin Williams
Britney Spears
Robert Downey Junior
James Taylor
Ozzie Osbourne
Timothy Leary
If Richard Feynman is going to classified as a drug user, I’m Keith 'effin Richards.
I think he admitted taking a hit or two off a joint, before going into a sensory deprivation chamber.
Paul McCartney is currently a gazillonaire, a knight, the owner of the publishing rights of some of the world’s best-known music by other artists as well as the songs he wrote that set the bar for aspiring musicians worldwide. He’s been a major (soft) drug-head since 1965, and has been busted more than once, and has spent time in jail for it.
Carl Sagan is known for writing his best work with Gaussian Functions high as a kite. There is a New york Times article Circ. sometime in the 90’s called “High on the Theories of the Universe” I have that hard copy, where the writer and longtime friend of Carl Sagan wrote about Carl’s affinity for the pipe weed and how he wrote his best most comprehensive work high…
I knew I loved him for more tha his celestial work!
First thing that came to mind when I saw the threat title! I think, from a creative point of view, drugs aren’t necessarily a hindrance at all, and a lot of drug users will be very successful in their creative endeavours. As for other aspects of their lives… well, clearly it doesn’t always work out!
Marion Barry was reelected right after he got out of prison multiple times ”After being released from prison, Barry was successful in his 1992 bid for a city council seat, running under the slogan “He May Not Be Perfect, But He’s Perfect for D.C.” In 1994, Barry was elected to his fourth and final term as mayor, serving until January 1999. On June 12, 2004 Barry announced that he was running in the Democratic primary for the Ward 8 council seat, a position he held before becoming mayor. Barry defeated the incumbent council member, Sandy Allen, on September 14, 2004, by a margin of at least 60–25%, setting him up to win the Ward 8 council seat in the November general election by a margin of 96–4%.”In July 2007, Marion Barry was chosen as one of fifty wax statues to debut in the Washington D.C. franchise of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Barry was chosen by a majority of Washington residents and tourists from Tussauds’ “Top 10 Wish List,” in a contest that pitted him against Cal Ripken, Al Gore, Denzel Washington, Carl Bernstein, Halle Berry, Martin Sheen, Marilyn Monroe, Nancy Reagan and Oprah Winfrey.[3] (wikipedia). All this after an IRS conviction in 2005 and a DU Iaquittal in 2006. So see you can do drugs go to jail and still be a mayor!
If you believe Clinton’s I didn’t inhale I’m sure you also believe he “didn’t have sex with that woman” too. Also read the title of the OP, it says “took or take” I said nothing about regular use.
On one of his comedy albums (No Cure for Cancer) Leary says “I did my share of drugs. I did my share, and your share, and your share…”
I imagine that most (although not all) actors, comedians, musicians have at least tried drugs, as it is in the nature of their creative culture to indulge.
I’d also venture that there would be a surprising number of well-known people in other walks of life who had at least tried drugs. Drugs are not that uncommon in this world (I mean, even people who haven’t done drugs have probably at least had the opportunity, and have turned them down). So, if you told me Mike Wallace, or Donald Trump, or some other mainstream success had toked once, I’d believe you.
Andrew Johns (Wikipedia Link). Not necessarily that well know anywhere outside the US, but he was regarded as one of our best Rugby League players, and a year after his retirement it turns out he was taking ecstasy for the best part of the last decade.
I am not a follower of League, but looking at that wiki article, he seems to have done OK for himself in the game.
Keeping your shit together (KYST) to me means not acting like Brittany Spears but I think her problems stem less from drugs and more from her manager mom not being around anymore working Baldie like a puppet with he hand up her ass. No I’m talking about people like Stephen King Author of over 200 book (50+ best sellers) or Kery Mullis winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing the polymerase chain reaction or Dr Stephen Jay, Gould a signatory to a 1998 advertisement in the New York Times, which took two full pages to appeal for a new international drug policy. “We believe the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug abuse itself,” the ad claimed.
(Other signatories to the ad included Walter Cronkite, former US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, former Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, former Secretary of State George Shultz, Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco, Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore, Mayor Susan Hammer of San Jose, Milton Friedman, and a variety of judges, police, academics and other prominent citizens.)
I don’t really see any problems with anyone else on your list are they causing you problems? Getting busted doesn’t seem to bother R.Downey. Jr. he does it constantly yet still seems to keep getting work, if drugs were legal he’d have no problems. Robin Williams was a coke head during Mork and Mindy and his first two HBO comedy specials, Off The Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1982) yet he was able to “KHST” and stop after John Belushi’s death and his first child’s birth and now he’s seeking help for his drinking. James Taylor wrote some of his best stuff all spiked out yet he “KHST” and sought treatment throughout his addictions and is popular to this day. As for Ozzie after all his drug abuse getting kicked out of Black Sabbath was the best thing that could have happened to him, his first solo effort achieved multi-platinum success. He then went on to Ozzfest and MTV’s “The Osbournes”. Timothy Leary was sucessful and famous almost entirely because of his drug use. In 1969 he sucessfully challenged the marijuana tax act as unconstitutional At the time of his death his staff updated his webpage with a log of the daily intake of various illicit and legal chemical substances, with a predilection for nitrous oxide, cigarettes, his trademark “Leary biscuits” (Pot crackers ), and eventually heroin and morphine. After his death some of his ashes went it to space along with Gene Roddenberry and 22 other well regarded individuals (we should be so lucky)
“Although most scientists are often reticent to admit or publicly discuss their use of illegal mind-enhancing drugs, there are some who are not afraid of openly discussing how marijuana or psychedelics opened their minds to new scientific perspectives.
One prominent example is astronomer Carl Sagan, who was a regular user of marijuana from the early 60’s until his death in 1996. Like Gould, Sagan was also best known for his ability to explain his complex ideas to the general public (CC#32 Carl Sagan: visionary scientist).
Sagan was close friends with Harvard professor Dr Lester Grinspoon, a leading advocate of decriminalization. In an anonymous essay which Sagan wrote for Grinspoon’s book Marijuana Reconsidered, Sagan explained how cannabis use had on occasion inspired him to produce scientific papers which won later acclaim.
Sagan disputed the “myth” of the pot high – that the insights achieved while stoned are illusory. “I am convinced that this is an error,” wrote Sagan, “and that the devastating insights achieved when high are real insights; the main problem is putting these insights in a form acceptable to the quite different self that we are when we’re down the next day.”
One classic anecdote from the mid-1980’s shows Sagan’s devotion to the inspirational effects of kind buds. Grinspoon had received some unsolicited buds from an admirer, and he shared the high-potency joints with Sagan and his wife Ann Druyan one evening. Afterwards Sagan said “Lester, I know you’ve only got one left, but could I have it? I’ve got serious work to do tomorrow and I could really use it.”
Although Sagan’s pot use didn’t become common knowledge until after his death, his last wife Druyan was a long-time board member and important fundraiser for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).”
