Thirty years ago, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger infamously toked pot in the documentary Pumping Iron. Now, he says about his marijuana use then:

"I didn't take any drugs. That is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron...

"I did smoke a joint and I did inhale. The bottom line is that's what it was in the '70s. That's what I did. I have never touched it since."

After the Governator's ganja gaffe, his press secretary Aaron McLear attempted to control the damage, stating: "Of course, the governor understands marijuana is a drug. It's like when he goes on Leno or The Daily Show. If you took something like that out of context, it might seem shocking, but it was in a silly entertainment context. I think it's important to keep that quote in the context of the environment where it was said."

The interview was conducted by Piers Morgan, an America's Got Talent judge and former Daily Mirror editor, for British GQ.

Schwarzenegger has more to say in the interview:

"What would you rather have? A politician taking stuff and not saying, but making the best decisions and improving things? Or a politician who names all the drugs he or she has taken but makes lousy decisions for the country?

"A politician's job is to do what's best for the people and to improve the country, the economy, the environment. Why should I care if a politician takes sleeping pills every night so long as he can do his job?"

Schwarzenegger appeared on the cover of High Times in 1984 when Conan the Barbarian was released. However, he was never interviewed by the pot mag.

Pix: Schwarzenegger with joint and well-endowed woman in Pumping Iron

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