In a candid interview with CBC's George Stroumoumbouloupoulus, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he has close-up and personal knowledge of the illegal drug industry having once spotted a baggie and joint of marijuana at a crowded university party in 1984.
The druggie episode, that Harper says was "not without danger", was at a gathering at the Stampeder Inn in Calgary to celebrate the University of Calgary Debate Team's victory over long-time rival the University of Alberta, where Harper had successfully argued the pro side that "Prisons Are A Pillar of Society."
"I didn't know who these young gentlemen were who arrived at the party all sleepy looking...but they were greasy let me tell you. I'm sure they weren't invited," said Harper in relaxed-fit jeans and an open collar shirt. "I saw a baggie of green that could have been parsley, or maybe coarsely chopped oregano...or a bit like organic mint tea leaves, yeah it looked exactly like organic mint tea leaves."
The revelation about having come in contact with marijuana is not considered to be on the level of U.S. President Barack Obama's admission that he blew through a bag a day in college, or the odd confession of former President Bill Clinton that he smoked pot daily but never inhaled.
Harper's main political opponents have both admitted to pot usage with youngish Justin Trudeau saying it was no big deal and that he had been stoned with his Dad several times including on the famous canoe trip where the father/son duo got lost paddling and were finally found two days later laughing uproariously over burgers, fries, onion rings, and bubble gum flavoured milkshakes at a Carl's Junior across the Ontario border in New York State.
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair's claims to having used marijuana have been received with skepticism after he told the Globe and Mail that he was an angry young drug user who used to "inject marijuana into his face."
Political experts have noted Harper's recent move to "young himself down" since 41-year old Justin Trudeau became leader of the federal Liberal Party.
"When I saw a badly rolled cigarette I was about to point out that we had all agreed to no smoking in the hospitality room but then it hit me...that's a doober, a reefer joint...what the kids today call a blunt or a spliffer," said Harper (53). "I got my team together and we decided it was best to leave and then file a protest with the Hotel."
With polls showing the majority of Canadians and Americans support the legalization of pot, the Harper Government has doubled down by increasing minimum marijuana possession sentences to 3 months in jail, up to $10,000 in fines, and mandatory listing on a new National Drugophile Registry.
When Streamoomoopoolous asked the Prime Minister what he would tell the majority of Canadians who want pot decriminalized, Mr. Harper simply said, "Look. I'm as hip as the next guy but Mary Jane didn't vote for me...Canadians did."
Reportering for The Lapine