Politics | Barack Obama Obama Drug Use Minimal: Old Friends Candor about teenage 'bad decisions' may have been overstated By Jane Yager Posted Feb 9, 2008 7:07 AM CST Copied Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., makes remarks during a news conference following a tour of the McKinstry Company, Friday, Feb. 8, 2008, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) (Associated Press) In his memoir Barack Obama makes a rare admission—for a politician—of “some bad decisions” as a teenager, of indulging in drinking and drugs before political activism led him out of apathy. But friends remember an already-focused Obama: an eloquent, poised young intellectual, active against South African apartheid and moderate in his lifestyle. "He was not even close to being a party animal," a college friend tells the New York Times. In a piece examining whether Obama might have overstated his coming-of-age challenges, college classmates say, "If someone passed him a joint, he would take a drag," but he never seemed to be grappling with drug problems. “As far as pot, booze or coke being a prevalent part of his life, I doubt it,” said a high school friend, who admits he pressured his classmate into drinking beer. Read These Next Details trickle out on 2 more victims of the Minneapolis shooting. Isolated tribe members show up in an unexpected place. The Air Force has changed its tune on Ashli Babbitt. One key to Telsa's huge court loss: a hacker in Starbucks. Report an error