Politics and drugs: Do they go together? Well, it seems so. Journalists and authorities have caught numerous politicians and their families using drugs. Most political leaders who used drugs admitted it when confronted or when they realized that the news would eventually come out. Others became addicted and fought a lifelong battle to get clean.

During the ’60s, the rise of pop culture changed popular attitudes towards drugs. Many musicians experimented with psychedelic drugs like LSD. This period also saw the rise of anti-establishment cultures that encouraged experimentation. Many of the young people involved in these activities eventually became part of a new generation of politicians and leaders. These famous politicians’ drug use stories illustrate the need for the rehabilitation services we offer at Sunlight Recovery.

Political Leaders Who Used Drugs

Leaders and high-profile politicians who used drugs include Bill Clinton, Jack Ford, Barack Obama, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Boris Johnson, Hunter Biden, Rob Ford and Rory Stewart.

Jack Ford

The son of President Ford, Jack, found life in the White House stifling. Talking to friends, he said that living in an environment where he’s surrounded by the Secret Service was miserable. During this period, he started smoking pot and associated with many celebrities, such as Bianca Jagger. Realizing his drug-related activities could compromise his father’s career, Jack Ford spoke openly about his use of marijuana. President Ford stated that he disapproved of his son’s drug use but praised him for his honesty. Jack went on to become a successful businessman.

Bill Clinton

Presidential candidate Bill Clinton made waves in 1992 when he admitted to substance abuse while he was in college at Oxford, UK. This sparked a national debate about what past marijuana use would mean if the nation’s chief executive allowed the prosecution of people for using cannabis. To salvage the situation, the then-governor of Arkansas had to publicly express remorse for having used it. While President Clinton may have been a pioneer in admitting to a political leader’s drug use, he wouldn’t be the last.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama learned from Bill Clinton’s experience in presidential politics. He decided to tell his own story of drug use before someone else raised it. He first discussed the matter in his 1995 autobiography, Dreams From My Father, A Story of Race and Inheritance. This came out while he began his run for the Illinois State Senate. Later, several news outlets would revisit the issue during the 2008 primary season, while he was fighting a running battle for the nomination against Hillary Clinton.

In his own words, the only drugs he used were marijuana and cocaine: “I had learned not to care. I blew a few smoke rings, remembering those years. Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.” In the same passage, he denied ever trying heroin because he was too scared of addiction to try it. This was before the beginning of the current opioid epidemic, which would go on to claim hundreds of thousands of lives.

In the same book, Obama reflected on what his future might have been if he hadn’t gotten away from substance abuse.

“Junkie. Pothead. That’s where I’d be headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man. Except the highs hadn’t been about that, me trying to prove what a down brother I was. Not by then, anyway. I got just the opposite effect, something that could push questions of who I was out of my mind, something that could flatten out the landscape of my heart, blur the edges of my memory.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy, has openly acknowledged that he spent decades in recovery from drugs and alcohol. Kennedy said that he started using drugs after his father’s assassination in 1968. Starting with LSD, he quickly moved on to heroin. By the end of summer, Kennedy became addicted to opioids. In 1970, the police arrested him for possession of marijuana.

Kennedy first sought help for his addiction in 1983 following a second arrest for drug possession. At the time, he realized that his addiction could kill him. Having been sober now for 40 years, Kennedy admits the only way he stays sober is by taking responsibility for his daily actions.

Hunter Biden

Hunter, the son of President Biden, has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. In his own words, his battle with substance abuse is like a “never-ending tunnel.” In 2023, the Delaware federal court convicted Hunter on felony charges for purchasing a handgun while on narcotics. His father, while President, subsequently granted Hunter a Presidential pardon.

The effect of Hunter’s addiction on his life has been severe. In 2003, he received treatment for alcoholism, but relapsed several times. The military discharged Hunter from the Navy Reserve in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine. In 2017, Hunter and his wife, Kathleen, divorced. Hunter’s legal problems over his substance abuse have left him with a debt of over $15 million.

Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022. The British politician has had a few drug scandals of his own. During a 2007 interview, Piers Morgan asked the future Conservative Prime Minister whether he’d ever had cocaine “in your big hooter.” Johnson admitted that he’d tried cocaine once at college, but he claimed he’d sneezed so it did not affect him. In the same interview, he admitted to having smoked “many spliffs,” which he claimed had been “jolly nice.”

In his interview with Morgan, Johnson showed regret over his youthful substance abuse, saying, “I have become very illiberal about it. I don’t want my kids to take drugs.”

Rob Ford

In May 2013, the American online tabloid site Gawker came out with a shaky cell phone video of Toronto mayor Rob Ford. The video shows Ford smoking crack and sharing his opinions about Canadian politics, including off-the-cuff thoughts about race and the presumed sexual orientations of other public figures. The film went viral and forced the mayor to comment on what exactly was going on. Over the next 3 years, Mayor Ford had a series of extremely uncomfortable public confrontations. This included a November 2013 city council meeting in which he had to answer under oath about his drug use and history of drunk driving.

Several resignations from his cabinet followed, as did calls for the mayor’s own resignation, which he refused to give in to. However, he did express remorse and sought treatment at a Chicago rehab facility, but the United States Border Patrol denied him entry. The drug scandal evolved into a sex scandal and then into several confrontations with other public figures and threats of lawsuits. During this time, a photographer caught the mayor on camera with crack yet again. City authorities at one point tried to restructure Toronto’s governing charter to deprive the mayor’s office of any official power, effectively firing Ford while in office.

Still hanging on, Mayor Ford filed as a candidate for reelection in 2014 despite a diagnosis of pleomorphic liposarcoma cancer. At the last minute, Rob’s brother Doug took his place on a mayoral ballot with 66 other candidates on it. Doug Ford got 33% of the vote, came in second place, and went on to become the premier of Ontario in 2018. On March 22, 2016, the 46-year-old Rob Ford passed away from his cancer.

Rory Stewart

A former British politician and cabinet minister, Rory Stewart, admitted to smoking opium at a wedding. He was born in British Hong Kong and grew up to be a tremendously accomplished army officer, journalist and diplomat.

Stewart retired from politics when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister. Speculation for the reasons he left government centered on news that he had smoked opium during his time in India. Stewart never denied the story, choosing instead to describe what he did as “a misdemeanor.” Expressing regret he’d used the drug, Stewart reiterated his political support for the British war on drugs. Since 2019, he’s been outside of politics and lives quietly in his house in Kensington.

Finding Help for Substance Abuse

As these examples of political leaders who used drugs show, drug and alcohol dependence can wreck lives and careers. Substance abuse is treatable; contact us today at Sunlight Recovery to find out how we can help treat your addiction. Our skilled and experienced team can help you overcome addiction, so you can live a clean and sober life.