UK minister admits to smoking weed in the past but ‘wasn’t very high’

Michael Gove, UK Minister for Welfare, Housing and Communities and Secretary of State for Intergovernmental Relations, admitted to smoking cannabis while studying at Oxford University in the 1980s, adding that he “didn’t get very high”. .

The Times Radio podcast asked if Gove took drugs while studying at Oxford University, and Gove replied, “Yes, I did,” adding that smoking cannabis “is a feature of the student experience for a lot of people.” .

It is indeed a special college experience: Daily cannabis use among college students rose to an all-time high in 2020.

The British politician said that weed in the 1980s was nothing compared to today’s potency, thanks in part to sinsemilla and breeding: “If you took a look at a High Times magazine from the 1970s, you would They do I think our top 40 buds looked like garbage by today’s standards,” reported Ab Hanna in 2017. THC levels are elevated today in seedless manicured buds and also in concentrates.

“Without getting too political, I think that the type of cannabis, marijuana, that’s available now will often have far higher THC levels and a far higher ability to cause harm,” Gove added .

When asked if he meant that he “didn’t get very high” at university, Gove replied, “No.”

The Cabinet Secretary continued to express his concerns about cannabis. “The other thing is also that I think the evidence for the link between smoking too much or using too much cannabinoids and mental illness and psychosis etc. is clearer,” he said.

Michael Gove: “I used cannabis in the 80’s but didn’t get very high”
The Cabinet Secretary says he is more concerned about the street drugs available today because they could be much stronger and more harmful

But 70 years ago, cannabis caused the reefer craze. … pic.twitter.com/xFacGVkTsL

— Marc Landers (@marclanders) June 26, 2023

On Twitter, people reacted differently to the revelations in the podcast. It is important to note that many other former and current British politicians have also smoked weed in the past including David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Harriet Harman, Jacqui Smith etc.

There are currently moves among Tory and Conservative leaders to make cannabis a Class A drug in the country, which would open doors for an industry.

It sounds familiar

One cannot help but draw comparisons to former President Bill Clinton, who also admitted on March 29, 1992 to having smoked weed while a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University: “I have never broken any state law.” , he said at a political forum. “But when I was in England I experimented with marijuana once or twice and I didn’t like it. I didn’t inhale it and never tried again.”

After Clinton’s first few months in office, however, he swung around to follow the strategies of his Republican predecessors in the White House on the war on drugs, and his past did not seem to influence his policies. These included the introduction of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 1994 and the introduction of three strike laws for repeat drug offenders.

Cannabis isn’t the only substance to consider. Years ago, Gove also admitted to having used cocaine on a number of occasions in the past, but said he regrets those experiences after details emerged in a bio. Cocaine is also a common trait of some former US Presidents.

Prof David Nutt, a former senior government drug adviser, criticized the double standards we often see between citizens and politicians.