cannabisnews.com: Smoke In His Eyes Smoke In His Eyes Posted by FoM on January 22, 2000 at 07:13:35 PT By Jake Tapper Source: Salon Magazine After Newsweek pulls a story about Gore's pot-smoking past, a former friend speaks out.While Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign prepares for its anticipated win at the Iowa Caucuses Monday, Washington media circles were agog with news having to do with crops other than corn. After Newsweek pulled a report on Gore's pot-smoking past, the story's main source started speaking out. At the last minute on Friday, Jan. 14, editors at Newsweek magazine pulled an excerpt of "Inventing Al Gore: A Biography," a book by their own reporter Bill Turque. According to a knowledgeable source, the editors were concerned that the excerpt focused too much on Gore's past drug use.The chapter in the book addresses the veracity of Gore's claim in 1987 that his past pot smoking was "rare and infrequent." That same year, as Gore was gearing up for his doomed presidential run, he said to reporters that it had been approximately 15 years since he last toked up.But Newsweek editors were worried about the credibility of one of Turque's main sources for the story disputing Gore's claim to "rare and infrequent" pot use -- former Gore pal and colleague at the Nashville Tennessean, John Warnecke, a recovering alcoholic currently in a 12-step program. Warnecke told Salon that he suffers from depression and that schizophrenia runs in his family. He says he used to regularly smoke pot with Gore, and that the vice president's marijuana use was far more extensive than Gore has indicated.Newsweek editors apparently tried to water down the language and descriptions in Turque's book, scheduled to be published in February. But since Turque and his publisher, Houghton Mifflin, own the rights to the excerpts, he had final say about what Newsweek would publish. An excerpt about Gore's time in Vietnam, which included scenes in which a distraught Tipper sought solace with Warnecke and his wife, had already been published in December.After all, Turque devoted three years of his life to the book, had confirmed Warnecke's allegations with other sources, and didn't want any of his research watered down.Turque, it should be noted, is no J.H. Hatfield, the since-discredited writer whose book about George W. Bush was quickly pulled from shelves last fall for containing shoddy sourcing, and after it was revealed Hatfield had served time in prison for hiring someone to murder his boss. Turque was Newsweek's White House correspondent for two years, a senior writer about national affairs for the magazine for five years and worked as a newspaper reporter for a decade before that, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 with a team of reporters at the Kansas City Star.After much hand-wringing and head-butting, according to the source, Turque and his editors agreed to pull the story to be reworked so that it could be given more context. In return, Turque was promised more space -- though there's no guarantee when or if the piece will run. Turque then called Warnecke to let him know about the delay.But Warnecke, now living on disability in the San Francisco area, decided to take matters into his own hands. A former member of the Tennessee chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Warnecke alerted the Web site of the Drug Reform Coordination Network that the piece had been pulled, hoping to somehow get his story out.It worked. The group's online site, DCRNet, published an interview with Warnecke on Friday that was picked up and linked to by Mediagossip.com, a Web site popular with reporters and editors.Gore spokesman Chris Lehane says, "This is old news. Gore brought it up himself in 1987 and was definitive at that time that he's never used it since entering public office." Lehane continued, "He's said he used it in college, used it in Vietnam and used it in Tennessee, but definitely hasn't used it since entering public service."Warnecke, an oft-quoted source as a former Gore friend, says that he has covered up for Gore in the past, downplaying Gore's pot use to reporters. Now, he says, he wants to set the record straight. Jan. 22, 2000 - WASHINGTON Copyright © 2000 Salon.com Related Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/DRCNethttp://www.drcnet.org/Did Gore Go One Toke Over the Line at Law School?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread4422.shtmlEditorial: Dishonest Policyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread4418.shtmlNew Bio Alleges Gore Used Marijuana For Yearshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread4399.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by STAN DUP on January 23, 2000 at 01:10:14 PT marijuana/ Al Gore one might say that this could kill Gore's chances for being elected due to BIG MONEY not wanting to back him now because they dont want the truth about HEMP to come out. but, the more likely scenario would be that Gore can only defend himself and his candidacy by admitting that ADULT marijuana use is harmless. this may force the VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES to help us SPREAD THE TRUTH! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on January 22, 2000 at 14:32:18 PT I said it before; the man is a political jellyfish And now, we learn he is a too-faced lying sack of s---, just like his I-did-not-inhale boss.Here's a man who knows, just like his boss knows - from personal experience, no less! - that MJ is not addictive or dangerous in any way. He has had EIGHT YEARS to insert some sanity into the WoSD and make some real inroads. But he has shown, time and again, that he is like most politicians. An invertebrate. A creature that has no backbone.He has done absolutely *nothing* while Vice-President to help all those who suffered needlessly under continued MJ prohibition. He has stood by while hundreds of thousand of non-violent people are abandoned to the (ha,ha) 'justice' system. He has done nothing while even more have had their homes, cars, and bank accounts stolen from them. He has done nothing while people's lives have been destroyed through career and job loss. He has done nothing while families have been torn asunder.He has done nothing.And now he wants you to vote for him?He's not worth the saliva necessary for a proper spit. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: