Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jan 2014 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2014 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: http://news.bostonherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53 Note: Prints only very short LTEs. Author: Hillary Chabot JOINT AGREEMENT Gov Hopefuls Say They Won't Push Full Legalization It's a question of toke as I say, not as I did for the majority of the candidates for Massachusetts governor. While four of the candidates vying for the state's top job - including Republican Charlie Baker and Democrat Steve Grossman - admitted to previously inhaling yesterday, none of them would support a push to fully legalize marijuana in the Bay State. "Legalizing marijuana is not a priority of mine," said Democratic candidate Juliette Kayyem yesterday during an in-studio interview on Herald Radio. She went on to admit she has smoked marijuana. "Let's just be clear, I grew up in the '80s in California. I'm not gonna lie," she laughed. Kayyem, who served as a Homeland Security secretary under President Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick, quickly followed up by indicating she hasn't smoked for a very long time. "I've had a lot of security clearances." The 44-year-old mother of three is hardly alone when it comes to politicians who have admitted to smoking pot. Her former boss Obama 'fessed up to using - and gubernatorial candidates Grossman, Baker and Democrat Donald Berwick also copped yesterday to sparking up earlier in life. Only Attorney General Martha Coakley and former Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts COO Joseph Avellone claim to have abstained. The question comes as the state is grappling with implementation of a 2012 ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana, after the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana. Efforts are now underway to get full legalization on the 2016 ballot. And while most of the gubernatorial candidates would maintain the current law, they were far from swept up by reefer madness. None of them supported legalization of weed similar to recent voter-approved initiatives in Colorado and Washington. "Charlie opposes full legalization of marijuana because of the adverse impact it could have on children and families," Baker spokesman Tim Buckley said in a brief statement. Buckley would only reveal that Baker smoked pot "a very long time ago." And while former Obama administration health care official Berwick "did experiment with marijuana" in college, he wants to see what happens in Colorado before moving forward here. Grossman remained tight-lipped about details of his marijuana use but echoed Berwick's sentiments on legalization. Coakley, a former Middlesex district attorney and prosecutor, has never lit up, according to campaign spokesman Kyle Sullivan. "Martha has concerns about expanding the current law because of the potential negative impact it could have on minors in particular," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom