Darrell Dexter admits to past pot use

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter says he smoked marijuana in university but too much is being made of the issue since federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau called for the legalization of pot.

Dexter says like most of his peers at the time in the 1970s, he tried marijuana.

“Like every other person that I knew back in the 70s when I was in university, I would have tried it, the same as other people at that time,” he said.

He says he will leave it up to the federal government to worry about whether marijuana should be legalized because there are more important things for the government to be concerned about, such as federal health-care funding and caps on immigration to the province.

“I know it’s a titillating little thing for reporters and stuff but really. there’s completely serious issues out there that deserve more commentary than that,” he said.

The debate over the country’s marijuana laws was reignited after Trudeau admitted earlier this month that he smoked pot three years ago when he was an MP.

He said he hasn’t lit up since, but he believes marijuana should be legalized and regulated.

– With files from Julia Wong