ABOVE: With Justin Trudeau, Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne, and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford all admitting to smoking marijuana in the past, Global’s Morning Show team asks: is it still a big deal for a politician to admit to past pot use in 21st century Canada?
TORONTO – Ontario’s premier and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford threw themselves in the political pot debate Wednesday, confessing they too smoked dope – and more than once.
Ford, who’s been fighting allegations that he smoked crack cocaine, raised eyebrows when he freely admitted to using a different drug.
“Oh yeah,” he said with a laugh. “I won’t deny that. I smoked a lot of it.”
Wynne also came clean that she puffed some pot, but “very, very infrequently” and stopped 35 years ago, before her children were born and she was elected.
“It’s never been a big part of my life,” said the 60-year-old premier.
Share your opinion. Does it matter to you if Ontario’s premier has smoked marijuana?
They’re the latest high-profile politicians to own up to using marijuana, after Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau admitted last week that he took a pull on a joint three years ago while he was an MP.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has said he stayed away from the drug after seeing a U.S. Supreme Court nominee withdraw after it emerged he had smoked marijuana in college.
- What is a halal mortgage? How interest-free home financing works in Canada
- Capital gains changes are ‘really fair,’ Freeland says, as doctors cry foul
- Ontario doctors offer solutions to help address shortage of family physicians
- Canada will take bigger economic hit than U.S. if Trump wins election: report
Trudeau said he hasn’t lit up since, but Justice Minister Peter MacKay condemned him for breaking the law while serving in public office.
He also accused Trudeau of hypocrisy for voting for mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana production before he stopped smoking up.
Wynne said she won’t pass judgment on Trudeau or anyone else.
“These are personal decisions that people make and I’m not going to weigh in on the decision of another politician or individual,” she said.
Related: ‘Star Trek’ actor George Takei praises Trudeau for pot admission
Ford’s admission Wednesday that he smoked weed came as a surprise since he’s refused to answer questions from reporters about his alleged drug use.
In May, Ford denied that he used crack in the face of reports that he was videotaped smoking the drug, and said he couldn’t comment on a video “that I have never seen and may not exist.”
Global News has not seen the video and cannot verify its authenticity.
Three years ago, Ford admitted he was charged with driving under the influence and marijuana possession in Florida in the 1990s. He at first denied the allegations, but later pleaded no-contest to the impaired driving charge and the drug charge was dropped.
Wynne, who lived with her young children for three years in the Netherlands where the drug is legal, wouldn’t say whether she agrees with Trudeau that marijuana should be legalized and regulated.
Proponents argue one of the benefits would be generating much-needed cash to pay for public services.
“I think it’s one of those contentious subjects that we need to debate,” said Wynne.
“I think it’s good that it’s been raised. I think that it’s an important debate to have, but I’m not going to weigh in on one side or other of it at this point.”
Former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien tried to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, but it didn’t become law.
For the record, Chretien said he never smoked a joint.
Comments