Blair Chilled Out

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Blair chilled out as film director smoked cannabis: report

 

LONDON (AFP) - US film director Robert Altman told a British newspaper that he smoked cannabis in front of British Prime Minister Tony Blair without any objection at a rock star's party.

 

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Robert Altman -- the 79-year-old director of "Gosford Park" and "Short Cuts" -- said he lit up while dining at rock star Dave Stewart's mansion but added that Blair did not partake.

 

The pair met during Blair's first term of office while the veteran director was in Britain filming the oscar-winning "Gosford Park".

 

"We were sitting there smoking grass. He was sitting across from me, so I thought he was pretty cool," Altman said of the encounter.

 

The director said he was later "disappointed" by Blair's relationship with US President George W. Bush and thought the prime minister's "cool" attitude was in fact a pose.

 

Earlier this year, Blair's government formally reclassified cannabis as a Class C drug, making it less of a priority for police already hard-pressed to tackle harder drugs.

 

Source.