In May 2012, excerpts from David Maraniss’s biography Barack Obama: The Story revealed that President Obama, as a high school student in Honolulu in the 1970s, belonged to a group of friends who called themselves the “Choom Gang,” after their slang for smoking marijuana. The details made headlines in an election year, and they framed a presidency that went on to ease federal enforcement against state marijuana laws without ever changing marijuana’s federal status.
The Weed Street Journal covered the excerpts in June 2012, just before the book came out. This rewrite tells the story with what the record shows, and with the Obama administration’s actual marijuana policy.
What Happened
Obama attended Punahou School in Honolulu from fifth grade and graduated in 1979. That he smoked marijuana as a teenager was never a secret. In his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father, he wrote: “Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.”
Maraniss, a longtime Washington Post journalist, added detail. As ABC News reported on May 25, 2012, the book described the Choom Gang’s habits and in-jokes:
- “Total Absorption”: holding in every bit of smoke. Exhaling early meant a penalty, and your turn was skipped the next time the joint came around. ABC noted the contrast with Bill Clinton’s famous claim that he didn’t inhale.
- “Roof hits”: smoking in a car with the windows rolled up, then tilting heads back to catch the last smoke trapped against the ceiling.
- “Interceptions”: Obama cutting in on a joint as it was passed, shouting “Intercepted!” and taking an extra hit.
- The “Choomwagon”: a friend’s Volkswagen bus, used for trips up Mount Tantalus above Honolulu.
The book also described an older man named Ray who sold the group marijuana and whom Obama thanked in his senior yearbook. The full biography was published in June 2012.
Why It Mattered
A sitting president’s teenage drug use was not new territory: Clinton’s “didn’t inhale” answer in 1992 was still a punch line. What made the Choom Gang story stick was its tone. The stories were specific and comic, and “choom” briefly became a national joke.
It also landed in an awkward political moment. Obama himself had called his youthful drug use a serious mistake; at the 2008 Saddleback Civil Forum he named it as his greatest moral failure. Meanwhile, his administration was under fire from cannabis advocates. A May 2012 Time report said the administration was cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries and growers as hard as the Bush administration had, and Rep. Barney Frank complained that on medical marijuana the administration looked more like George W. Bush’s than Bill Clinton’s. Critics asked why a president who once chased “roof hits” was presiding over that enforcement.
What Happened Next
Obama won reelection in November 2012, the same night Colorado and Washington voters legalized adult-use marijuana. His second term brought most of his administration’s marijuana record:
- August 29, 2013: Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued the “Cole memo,” telling federal prosecutors to generally leave state-legal marijuana businesses alone unless they hit federal priorities such as sales to minors, cartel involvement, violence, impaired driving or diversion to other states. It built on a narrower 2009 memo by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden covering medical marijuana.
- January 2014: In a New Yorker interview with David Remnick, Obama said of marijuana, “I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol,” and said it was important to let Colorado and Washington’s legalization proceed. “Middle-class kids don’t get locked up for smoking pot, and poor kids do,” he added, CBS News reported. He also called it “a bad habit and a vice” and said he did not encourage it.
- December 16, 2014: Obama signed a spending bill containing the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which bars the Justice Department from using funds to stop states from carrying out their medical marijuana laws. The House had adopted it 219 to 189 in May 2014. It must be renewed each year and has been carried in later spending bills.
- August 2016: The DEA denied two petitions to reschedule marijuana, keeping it in Schedule I, but announced it would end the University of Mississippi’s monopoly on growing marijuana for federal research.
- 2009 to 2017: Obama granted 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations, according to Justice Department clemency statistics. Many of the commutations went to people serving long federal drug sentences.
On January 4, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole memo.
Where It Stands in 2026
The question the Choom Gang story raised in 2012, how a president who smoked marijuana should treat people who still do, is still being worked out. An April 2026 DOJ/DEA final order moved FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana held under a state medical marijuana license to Schedule III. Adult-use marijuana remains in Schedule I, and a DEA hearing on moving all marijuana to Schedule III was stayed in September 2026. Our federal marijuana laws guide explains where things stand, and our state cannabis laws page covers each state.
The Choom Gang itself has settled into political folklore. For more presidential and pop-culture cannabis history, see our marijuana history section and the cannabis news archive.
Obama Choom Gang FAQ
What was the Choom Gang?
A group of Barack Obama’s high school friends in Honolulu in the 1970s who smoked marijuana together. “Choom” was their slang for smoking pot. The name became public through David Maraniss’s 2012 biography.
What did “roof hits” and “total absorption” mean?
Total absorption meant holding in all the smoke, with a skipped turn as the penalty for exhaling early. Roof hits meant inhaling the smoke trapped against a car’s ceiling with the windows up.
What did Obama do about marijuana as president?
His Justice Department issued the 2013 Cole memo easing enforcement in legal states, and he signed the 2014 Rohrabacher-Farr amendment protecting medical programs. Marijuana stayed in Schedule I, and the DEA declined to reschedule it in 2016.
Did Obama say marijuana is safer than alcohol?
In a January 2014 New Yorker interview, he said, “I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol,” while calling it a bad habit he did not encourage.
Originally reported by The Weed Street Journal; rewritten and updated in October 2026 with what happened next.
