List of Philosophers Who Smoke Weed

• Walter Benjamin conducted extensively documented philosophical hashish experiments, producing detailed protocols between 1927-1934 that influenced his concept of “profane illumination”
• Alan Watts explicitly named cannabis as his preferred substance for philosophical work in a 1968 California Law Review essay
• Carl Sagan contributed a well-known anonymous cannabis essay under the pseudonym “Mr. X,” with his identity confirmed posthumously in 1999
• The Club des Hashischins in 1840s Paris brought together philosophers like Baudelaire and Gautier for systematic hashish exploration
• Michel Foucault was reported to have kept a marijuana plant on his Paris balcony and discussed drug use in published interviews
• Timothy Leary’s 1965 marijuana arrest led to a Supreme Court case that declared the Marihuana Tax Act unconstitutional
• Contemporary academic philosophers like Dale Jacquette have openly confirmed their cannabis use in philosophical publications

Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) left behind extensively documented philosophical cannabis experiments. The German-Jewish critical theorist conducted systematic hashish experiments between 1927 and 1934, recording his experiences in detailed protocols that were later published by Harvard University Press as On Hashish.

Benjamin’s approach was almost clinical. He worked with physicians Ernst Joël and Fritz Fränkel, who supervised his sessions and helped document the results. The protocols describe perceptual changes, time distortion, and cognitive alterations in precise philosophical language. His essay “Hashish in Marseilles” was published in 1932 in the Frankfurter Zeitung.

These experiments weren’t recreational diversions—scholars connect them to Benjamin’s philosophical concept of “profane illumination,” which he explored in his essay on Surrealism. He believed hashish could reveal hidden aspects of everyday experience that ordinary consciousness overlooked. Benjamin also experimented with opium and mescaline, always maintaining detailed written records.

Alan Watts (1915–1973) didn’t just use cannabis—he wrote explicitly about preferring it over other psychedelics for his philosophical work. In his 1968 essay “Psychedelics and Religious Experience” published in the California Law Review, Watts stated unambiguously: “I myself have experimented with five of the principal psychedelics: LSD-25, mescaline, psilocybin, dimethyl-tryptamine (DMT), and cannabis.”

The British-American philosopher went further, specifically recommending cannabis for consciousness exploration: “Of the five psychedelics tried, I found that LSD-25 and cannabis suited my purposes best. Of these two, the latter—cannabis—which I had to use abroad in countries where it is not outlawed, proved to be the better.”

Watts became one of the most influential interpreters of Eastern philosophy for Western audiences. His books on Zen Buddhism, Taoism, and comparative religion shaped the counterculture movement’s understanding of consciousness and spirituality. His 1962 book The Joyous Cosmology documented his experiences with consciousness-altering substances and their philosophical implications.

Carl Sagan (1934–1996) might seem like an unusual inclusion—he’s primarily known as an astronomer and science communicator. But Sagan wrote extensively on philosophical topics, and his cannabis use is among the best-documented of any public intellectual.

In 1971, Sagan contributed an anonymous “Mr. X” essay (written earlier) to psychiatrist Lester Grinspoon’s book Marihuana Reconsidered. The essay described decades of personal use in striking detail: “Since then I have smoked occasionally and enjoyed it thoroughly. It amplifies torpid sensibilities.”

Sagan’s identity as Mr. X remained secret until Keay Davidson revealed it in his 1999 biography Carl Sagan: A Life. His widow Ann Druyan later confirmed his lifelong use and served as President of the NORML Foundation from 2006 to 2010. Sagan credited cannabis with enhancing his appreciation of art, music, and the profound questions about humanity’s place in the cosmos that defined his philosophical outlook.

Michel Foucault (1926–1984), one of the 20th century’s most influential philosophers, was remarkably open about his drug use in an era when such admissions could destroy academic careers. In interviews, Foucault discussed drugs: “We have to try drugs, they are a part of our culture. Just as there is good and bad music, there are also good and bad drugs.”

French writer Claude Mauriac documented a 1975 conversation in which Foucault confirmed he had tried “LSD, cocaine, opium, he has tried everything, except for heroin.” A contemporary profile reported that Foucault kept a marijuana plant on his Paris terrace—a bold move for a professor at the prestigious Collège de France.

The academic journal Foucault Studies (Volume 28) published “Foucault on Drugs: The Personal, the Ethical,” examining how his drug experiences connected to his philosophical work on pleasure, power, and the care of the self. Foucault’s philosophy consistently challenged conventional boundaries between acceptable and transgressive experiences.

Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) occupies a fascinating position between poet and philosopher. While primarily remembered for Les Fleurs du Mal, his work Les Paradis Artificiels (Artificial Paradises, 1860) represents genuine philosophical drug literature that influenced generations of thinkers.

Baudelaire is often associated with the Club des Hashischins, which met in Paris between 1844 and 1849. The club gathered at the Hôtel Pimodan (now Hôtel de Lauzun) on the Île Saint-Louis, where members consumed dawamesk—a hashish-infused sweet paste (often pistachio-based) made with fat and sweeteners; recipes varied.

His first-person accounts describe hashish effects in three distinct phases, noting phenomena like synesthesia: “Sounds cloak themselves with colour; colours blossom into music.” Baudelaire’s systematic phenomenological observations and cultural criticism place him firmly within philosophical discourse, even if his primary reputation rests on poetry.

Théophile Gautier (1811–1872) contributed far more to philosophy than many realize. He articulated the influential doctrine of “l’art pour l’art” (Art for Art’s Sake) in his preface to Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835)—the argument that art should be valued purely for aesthetic qualities independent of moral utility. This doctrine shaped Parnassianism, Symbolism, and Modernism.

Gautier’s hashish use is extensively documented through his membership in the Club des Hashischins and his first-person account “Le Club des Hachichins” published in Revue des Deux Mondes in February 1846. His descriptions of hashish visions—hallucinations, time distortion, euphoria—provided some of the earliest systematic accounts of cannabis intoxication in Western literature.

Unlike some members who attended casually, Gautier was deeply invested in understanding how altered consciousness could inform aesthetic philosophy. His experiences with hashish reinforced his conviction that art existed in a realm beyond ordinary moral considerations.

Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) documented smoking marijuana in her own published work, making her cannabis use a matter of first-person record. In her travel diary America Day by Day (1948), de Beauvoir describes smoking her first marijuana cigarette at the Plaza Hotel during her 1947 visit to New York City.

The account is brief—a single experiential mention rather than philosophical reflection—but it constitutes verified first-person documentation from one of the twentieth century’s influential existentialist philosophers. De Beauvoir’s willingness to include this detail in a published memoir reflects her broader commitment to examining lived experience without shame or evasion.

Her philosophical work, including The Second Sex and The Ethics of Ambiguity, emphasized authentic engagement with experience over conformity to social expectations—a stance consistent with her openness about trying cannabis during her American travels.

Timothy Leary (1920–1996) earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from UC Berkeley and lectured at Harvard from 1959 to 1963. While primarily associated with LSD, his cannabis use created legal history that affected millions of Americans.

In December 1965, Leary was arrested at the border for marijuana possession. Convicted in March 1966 and sentenced later (commonly reported as June 1966) to 30 years, his case didn’t end there—Leary v. United States (1969) reached the Supreme Court, which declared the Tax Act unconstitutional on Fifth Amendment grounds.

Leary was arrested again in 1968 in Laguna Beach for marijuana possession. He developed philosophical frameworks including the eight-circuit model of consciousness and described himself as a “performing philosopher.” Whatever one thinks of his ideas, his cannabis use is legally documented beyond any doubt.

Terence McKenna (1946–2000) is identified by academic sources as an “American philosopher, ethnobotanist, lecturer, and author.” Unlike philosophers who used cannabis occasionally, McKenna made it central to his intellectual practice.

McKenna discussed his hashish use: “I find that when I’m writing books… I smoke hashish and twenty minutes later I’m ready to go two hours more at it.” His wife Kat Harrison publicly confirmed at Psychedelic Science 2017 that she and cannabis were “sister wives” of Terence—a striking metaphor for the substance’s importance in his life.

McKenna developed philosophical frameworks including the “stoned ape” hypothesis about human evolution and novelty theory about time and history. His lectures on consciousness, language, and culture drew enormous audiences. Whether or not one accepts his more speculative ideas, his commitment to integrating cannabis into philosophical practice was total and well-documented.

Dale Jacquette (1953–2019) represents perhaps the most straightforward case of a professional academic philosopher confirming cannabis use. He held the Senior Professorial Chair in Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Bern and specialized in philosophical logic and metaphysics.

In his essay “Philosophers Stoned” in The Philosophers’ Magazine, Jacquette explicitly confirmed past use: “I had to reach back to my college days of carefree toking… to fill out my front-matter and my own contribution with a little colour.”

Jacquette also edited Cannabis – Philosophy for Everyone (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), a collection examining cannabis from multiple philosophical perspectives. His willingness to acknowledge personal experience while maintaining a respected academic career demonstrates how attitudes toward cannabis have evolved within professional philosophy

These ten philosophers span nearly two centuries and multiple philosophical traditions—from Benjamin’s critical theory to Watts’s comparative religion to Foucault’s post-structuralism. What unites them isn’t a shared philosophy but a shared willingness to examine consciousness from the inside, using cannabis as one tool among many.

Several patterns emerge from their accounts. Multiple philosophers describe enhanced pattern recognition and aesthetic appreciation under cannabis influence. Time distortion appears repeatedly—Benjamin, Baudelaire, and Gautier all documented this effect extensively. Many describe accessing normally unconscious thought processes or making unexpected conceptual connections.

None of these philosophers claimed cannabis provided automatic philosophical insight. Benjamin emphasized the importance of proper setting and supervision. Watts distinguished between using substances for entertainment versus serious inquiry. Foucault insisted on discrimination between beneficial and harmful drug experiences. These thinkers approached cannabis thoughtfully, not carelessly.

Understanding that major philosophers used cannabis challenges lingering stereotypes about the substance and its users. The “stoner” caricature has little in common with Benjamin’s meticulous protocols or Jacquette’s formal logic.

The cannabis industry continues expanding rapidly, with recreational use now legal in 24 states plus Washington D.C. as of 2025. As more Americans incorporate cannabis into their lives, knowing that profound thinkers throughout history did the same provides valuable perspective.

These philosophers didn’t use cannabis despite their intellectual achievements—in several cases, they integrated it deliberately into their thinking processes. That’s worth knowing, whether or not one chooses to follow their example.