Pubdate: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2011 The Toronto Star Contact: http://www.thestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456 Author: Rob Ferguson, Queen's Park Bureau HUDAK ADMITS TO SMOKING POT It's a political rite of passage -- answering the question "did you inhale?" Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak on Thursday admitted to smoking marijuana, joining a long list of high-profile politicians quizzed on their reefer habits, including U.S. President Barack Obama and Premier Dalton McGuinty. "Yes, I have," Hudak replied Thursday as he reannounced his campaign promise to have a registry of homes once used as grow-ops or crystal meth labs to protect buyers. "I was wondering if this would come up. "I was a normal kid, I had a normal upbringing, a normal life in university. I experimented from time to time with marijuana. It's a long time ago in the past and in the grand scheme of things." Hudak was obviously prepared for the question, which politicians of all stripes have chosen to answer differently over the years -- and which has declined in importance as the pot-smoking baby boom generation ascended to prominent positions. Obama had one of the best answers when asked whether he had ever inhaled. "Frequently . . . that was the point!" he quipped several years ago. The fact Obama answered so casually is a sign pot smoking is no longer an issue, said Bob Andersen, a professor of sociology and political science at the University of Toronto. "It's not going to hurt Hudak," he said of Thursday's admission. "It might even help. People will see him as a real guy." In a televised debate years ago, Sen. Joseph Lieberman said he'd never taken a few tokes. "I never smoked marijuana. Sorry!" he said, almost embarrassed. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath's staff replied to an email asking if she has smoked pot with a terse "yes," but declined to provide further details. McGuinty has previously admitted to smoking pot when he was younger. "I was in my late teens, I did it twice," McGuinty told the Star in 1999, when he was leader of the opposition. Then-premier Mike Harris said no to the dope question. "I found booze a little more attractive." Despite his past dalliance with dope, Hudak said he does not support the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. "I think we still need to set a very clear direction that drug use is wrong and these criminal activities need to be taken very seriously." Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, a former energy minister, said it's odd that Hudak is fighting grow-ops at the same time as he is leading a crusade against "smart meters" because they help find dope. "One of the great things about smart meters is they help you shut down grow-ops ... these things give very precise measurements of how much power is used," he said. "I kind of laughed today. Here's a guy out berating smart meters." Pot in politicians' past "When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like it. I didn't inhale and never tried it again." - -- Bill Clinton during the 1992 U.S. presidential election campaign "You bet I did. And I enjoyed it" - -- Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, when asked in 2001 if he had ever tried marijuana "I never exhaled." - -- Chris Stockwell in 2002, when running for the provincial Tory leadership "Like a lot of other people, I've smoked marijuana. It is what goes on in this country." - -- New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson in 2001 "I have smoked pot as a young man, yes ... and it's one of the reasons why I urge young people not to repeat the experience." - -- Michael Ignatieff, then-federal Liberal leader, in 2011 "As a kid trying to impress a girl and prove that I wasn't a moral egghead, I had a puff or two of a joint at a party." - -- Rocco Rossi, then-Toronto mayoral candidate, in 2010 "Yes, of course I tried it before, obviously. My own experience can't tell you if it's harmful or not." - -- Martin Cauchon, then-federal justice minister, speaking about marijuana in 2002 "When I was 14, someone tried to offer me marijuana and I remember trying to smoke it but I coughed and I got nothing out of it." - -- Helena Guergis in 2010 Compiled by Rick Sznajder - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.