It's not exactly the Nobel Peace Prize, but President Obama and a lot of his friends are topping another list of overachievers: dope smokers who made good.

The Marijuana Policy Project's “Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users” in the United States puts Obama at the top, followed by Oprah Winfrey and former President Bill Clinton, making them former potheads who broke the stereotype and went on to score major accomplishments.

“The goal here is to dispel the myth that marijuana users are ‘losers’ who lack motivation and highlight the fact that they are typically productive and oftentimes quite successful,” said Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. “As this list demonstrates, many of our nation’s most successful citizens have used marijuana.”

Obama, however, recently said he does not plan to legalize marijuana.

To get on the group's second-ever such list, people had to have used marijuana at least once -- and still be alive.

“We hope this list gets people thinking about the fact that marijuana prohibition laws cause more harm than the substance itself,” Tvert said. “Some of these folks might not have made it to where they are today had they been arrested for using marijuana.”

Most have either admitted using marijuana or skated around the issue enough to suggest they are past users. According to research from the Project, former President George W. Bush, for example, once said, "I wouldn't answer the marijuana questions. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried." Bush is 12th on the list.

The Top 20

1. Barack Obama

2. Oprah Winfrey

3. Bill Clinton

4. Clarence Thomas

5. Stephen Colbert

6. Jon Stewart

7. Jay-Z

8. John Kerry

9. George Soros

10. Bill Maher

11. Bill Gates

12. George W. Bush

13. Andrew Cuomo

14. Rand Paul

15. Sanjay Gupta

16. LeBron James

17. Rush Limbaugh

18. George Clooney

19. Michael Bloomberg

20. Lady Gaga

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.