London
(ANI):
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
has
raised
eyebrows
in
the
US
by
claiming
that
marijuana
is
not
a
drug.
In
an
interview
with
GQ
magazine,
the
Hollywood
star
turned
governor
of
California
insisted
that
he
had
not
taken
drugs,
even
though
he
has
acknowledged
using
marijuana
in
the
1970s
and
was
shown
smoking
a
joint
in
the
1977
documentary
"Pumping
Iron."
"That
is
not
a
drug.
It's
a
leaf.
My
drug
was
pumping
iron,
trust
me," the
Independent
quoted
him,
as
saying.
The
60-year-old
also
refused
to
condemn
politicians
who
took
drugs
and
said
it
was
not
necessarily
a
matter
of
public
interest.
However,
Aaron
McLear,
Schwarzenegger's
press
secretary,
said
that
the
governor
made
the
comments
in
a
very
light-hearted
context,
asserting
his
interviewer
was
Piers
Morgan,
one
of
the
judges
on
"America's
Got
Talent".
"The
governor
was
doing
an
interview
with
the
host
of
'America's
Got
Talent,' the
newest
version
of
the
gong
show.
I
think
it's
important
to
keep
that
quote
in
the
context
of
the
environment
where
it
was
said,"
McLear
said.
"Of
course
the
governor
understands
marijuana
is
a
drug.
It's
like
when
he
goes
on
Leno
or
the
Daily
Show,
if
you
took
something
like
that
out
of
context,
it
might
seem
shocking
but
it
was
in
a
silly
entertainment
context,"
he
added.
In
the
same
interview,
Schwarzenegger
listed
former
British
Prime
Minister
Tony
Blair
as
one
of
the
greatest
leaders
in
history,
along
with
former
South
African
President
Nelson
Mandela,
Presidents
John
F.
Kennedy
and
Ronald
Reagan
and
ex-Soviet
leader
Mikhail
Gorbachev.
Asked
if
he
would
include
President
George
W.
Bush
on
the
list,
Schwarzenegger,
who
is
a
Republican,
said:
"I
would
say
that
I
was
...
very
fond
of
his
father.
I
worked
for
President
Bush
Sr.,
and
he
was
a
great
man."