Thomas Jefferson hemp smoking hoax
The Thomas Jefferson hemp smoking hoax concerns a quote misattributed to U.S. President Thomas Jefferson:
{{quote|Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see.}}
Although he may have raised hemp, according to reliable sources, Jefferson was not the source of the phrase, which is in fact a modern invention.{{cite web | title=History of Cannabis, Part 2 | website=NIDA for Teens | date=March 5, 2015 | url=https://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/history-of-cannabis-part-2 | accessdate=2017-05-10}}{{cite web | last=McFarland | first=Melanie | title=10 surprising facts about the history of pot | work=Salon | date=October 9, 2014 | url=http://www.salon.com/2014/10/09/10_surprising_facts_about_the_history_of_pot_partner/ | accessdate=2017-05-10}}{{cite web | last=Roberts | first=Chris | title=11 US Presidents Who Smoked Marijuana | work=High Times | date=February 17, 2014 | url=http://hightimes.com/culture/11-us-presidents-who-smoked-marijuana/ | accessdate=2017-05-10}} It reportedly appeared as an Internet hoax in 2008 and was first printed in 2013,{{cite web | title=Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp... (Quotation) | website=Thomas Jefferson's Monticello | type=website|date=May 2, 2013 | url=https://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/some-my-finest-hours-have-been-spent-my-back-veranda-smoking-hemp-quotation | accessdate=2017-05-10}} and has been described by American University School of Communication professor W. Joseph Campbell in Getting It Wrong: Debunking the Greatest Myths in American Journalism as "fake news" predating Facebook.{{citation|title=Legend Has It: Prof Shows Fake News a Problem Long Before Facebook|author=Gregg Sangillo|date=March 2, 2017|publisher=American University|url=http://www.american.edu/ucm/news/20170302-Campbell-myths.cfm}} According to Campbell, pro-legalization U.S. presidential candidate Gary Johnson repeated the quote during a 2012 television interview.{{citation|title=Getting It Wrong: Debunking the Greatest Myths in American Journalism|first=W. Joseph|last=Campbell|publisher=University of California Press|year=2016|isbn=9780520965119|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ld0ODQAAQBAJ|page=222}} The quote has also been attributed to Jefferson in print newspapers, such as Detroit Free Press and newspapers in British Columbia and India, and Internet image macros featuring the quote.{{citation|work=Business Insider Australia|title=It's Thomas Jefferson Day: Here Are 19 Famous 'Quotes' That He Never Actually Said|author=Walter Hickey|date=April 14, 2014|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/thomas-jefferson-quotes-that-were-made-up-2014-4}}