Osama bin Laden and marijuana: Was the terrorist a stoner?

Among the juicy details emerging in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death last week was the fact that a bunch of marijuana plants were found growing next to his Abbottabad compound in Pakistan. The discovery has launched an Internet's worth of bad puns and stupid jokes: "Osama bin Smokin,'"...

By Joel Warner

May 10, 2011

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Among the juicy details emerging in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death last week was the fact that a bunch of marijuana plants were found growing next to his Abbottabad compound in Pakistan. The discovery has launched an Internet's worth of bad puns and stupid jokes: "Osama bin Smokin,'" "Bin Laden Been Blazin."

But is there any truth to the headlines?

Some over-eager sleuths have pointed out that the compound was known to place bulk orders for soda and food from the local market, so maybe the world's most wanted terrorist had a bad case of the munchies. On the other hand, bin Laden was rumored to suffer from kidney problems, something for which he could've scored a medical marijuana card in Colorado and several other states. (Although to do so, he would've had to show a valid ID among other credentials, and that would have SERIOUSLY cramped the dude's style.)

All in all, the revelation seems to play into every drug warrior's wildest dream: It appears that marijuana may, after all, turn you into a terrorist!

Of course, there may be a much simpler explanation for the Abbottabad stash: Pot is known to grow wild in those parts of the world. In other words, this particular weed may just, in fact, have been a weed.

If so, we have to say: What a wasted opportunity. If there was one guy who could've used a little mellow indica, it's bin Laden.

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Joel Warner is a former staff writer for Westword and International Business Times. He's also written for WIRED, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Bloomberg Businessweek, Popular Science, Slate, Grantland and many other publications. He's co-author of the 2014 book The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny, published by Simon & Schuster.

Contact: Joel Warner