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When he was 鈥渄rug czar鈥� in the administration of George H. W. Bush, William Bennett was asked if he鈥檇 ever smoked marijuana.

鈥淣o,鈥� he reportedly said, grinning. 鈥淏esides, I was very young at the time.鈥�

Or as former president George W. Bush said when deflecting questions about his drug use decades ago, 鈥淲hen I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible.鈥�

鈥淵outhful indiscretion鈥� is a phrase often heard among politicians in recent years 鈥� typically referring to extra-marital affairs (sometimes occurring when the adulterer was in his 40s).

When he wasn鈥檛 being questioned (or impeached) about his alleged womanizing, former president Bill Clinton acknowledged having smoked marijuana 鈥渁 time or two鈥� when he was a Rhodes Scholar in England 鈥� although he was quick to point out that he 鈥渄idn't inhale and never tried it again.鈥�

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Now it鈥檚 Barack Obama鈥檚 turn to come under scrutiny for drug use.

In his new biography 鈥淏arack Obama: The Story,鈥� to be published next month but widely excerpted in the press, David Maraniss of the Washington Post details Obama鈥檚 marijuana smoking when the future president was a high school student in Hawaii.

With a group of friends who called themselves 鈥淭he Choom Gang鈥� (mostly basketball buddies) the future president rode around in a VW van or hung out at a favorite island spot up Mount Tantalus on Oahu, smoking marijuana and sometime drinking beer.

"They parked single file on the grassy edge, turned up their stereos playing Aerosmith, Blue 脰yster Cult, and Stevie Wonder, lit up some 'sweet-sticky Hawaiian buds,' and washed it down with 'green bottled beer' (the Choom Gang preferred Heineken, Beck's, and St. Pauli Girl)," Mr. Maraniss writes. "No shouting, no violence, no fights; they even cleaned up their beer bottles. This was their haven, in the darkness high above the city and the pressures of Punahou鈥� 鈥� the private college-prep school Obama attended from fifth grade through graduation in 1979.

The news that Obama used drugs for a while years ago 鈥� which is not really news; he acknowledges the fact in his autobiography 鈥淒reams from My Father鈥� 鈥� probably doesn鈥檛 shock or even surprise many Americans versed in today鈥檚 arguments about the failings of the 鈥渄rug war鈥� and the legalization of marijuana, including for medicinal purposes.

鈥淣ew data 鈥� show that marijuana use is becoming a more acceptable behavior among teens, and heavy marijuana use is now at disturbingly high levels,鈥� the Partnership for a Drug-Free America reported this month.

鈥淣early half of teens (47 percent) have ever used marijuana 鈥� a 21 percent increase since 2008. Additionally, two out of every five teens (39 percent) have tried marijuana in the past year, up from 31 percent in 2008,鈥� according to the report. 鈥淧ast-month use has increased 42 percent from 19 percent in 2008 to 27 percent in 2011. Heavy monthly use (20 or more times) is up 80 percent from 5 percent to 9 percent in 2011.鈥�

And of course the Woodstock era in which the parents of today鈥檚 teens grew up 鈥� the 1960s and 70s 鈥� launched a new public attitude about marijuana. 鈥淚f you can remember the 60s, you weren鈥檛 really there,鈥� goes the old joke, variously attributed to comedian Robin Williams or singer Grace Slick of The Jefferson Airplane. Who of a certain age can forget "White Rabbit?"

But back to Obama, who falls between the two generations. What鈥檚 his attitude as an adult toward marijuana?

Speaking at Northwestern University in Chicago in 2004 he said, 鈥淚n terms of legalization of聽drugs, I think, the battle, the war on聽drugs聽has been an utter failure and I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana聽laws.鈥�

鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not somebody who believes in legalization of marijuana,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat I do believe is that we need to rethink how we are operating in the聽drug聽wars, and I think that currently, we are not doing a good聽job.鈥�

As president (and perhaps as the father of 13- and 10-year olds), he鈥檚 taken a tougher line.

The administration鈥檚 National Drug Control Strategy, issued last year, states: 鈥淢arijuana and other illicit drugs are addictive and unsafe especially for use by young people. The science, though still evolving in terms of long-term consequences, is clear: marijuana use is harmful. Independent from the so called 鈥榞ateway effect鈥� 鈥� marijuana on its own is associated with addiction, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, and cognitive impairment, among other negative effects.鈥�

On medical marijuana, the strategy states:

鈥淒espite successful political campaigns to legalize 鈥榤edical鈥� marijuana in 15 states and the District of Columbia, the cannabis (marijuana) plant itself is not medicine. While there may be medical value in some of the individual components of the cannabis plant, the fact remains that smoking marijuana is an inefficient and harmful method for delivering the constituent elements that have or may have medicinal value鈥�. To date, the [Food and Drug Administration] has not found smoked marijuana to be either safe or effective medicine for any condition.鈥�

Obama鈥檚 鈥渄rug czar,鈥� Gil Kerlikowske (Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy), points out that most adult males arrested on misdemeanors and felonies test positive for an illegal drug, including marijuana, at the time of their arrest 鈥� ranging from 64 percent in Atlanta to 81 percent in Sacramento.

Mr. Kerlikowske (the former police chief of Seattle) advocates a 鈥渢hird way鈥� between legalization and strict criminalization 鈥� a focus on treatment and prevention.

It鈥檚 the kind of thing the teen-aged Barack Obama probably didn鈥檛 think about when he was hanging out with 鈥淭he Choom Gang.鈥�

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