Rare Photo of Barack Obama & the 'Choom Gang' Unearthed

Image courtesy fotomen.cn

During an interview on CSPAN's Book TV Sunday, "Barack Obama: The Story" author David Maraniss unveiled a photo of a young Barack Obama posing with his infamous pot-smoking "Choom Gang."

“How much pot-smoking did the president do in Honolulu?” asked host Peter Slen.

“Well, you know, he writes about it in his book,” Marannis responded.

“He doesn’t write in particulars about the 'Choom Gang.' Ah, you know, the whole notion of Bill Clinton saying he never inhaled, well Barry said ‘that was the point, wasn’t it?’ when Jay Leno asked him about it. And, you know, some of my book -- without going overboard -- documents it pretty thoroughly,” he added.

"The 'Choom Gang,' that's what they did," Marannis said, referring to the gang’s love of "total absorption" (i.e. “hotboxing”). "That was part of his existence during that period.”

(H/T: Charlie Spiering)

This story has been updated with a better quality photo of the "Choom Gang"