BLAGOJEVICH ACKNOWLEDGES SMOKING MARIJUANA TWICE

SPRINGFIELD -- Democratic nominee for governor Rod Blagojevich admitted
Monday he'd twice smoked marijuana when he was "college age" but said he
was so bad at it that he doesn't know if he inhaled.

Blagojevich, 45, a Chicago congressman, made the comments after being asked
by a reporter at a Capitol news conference.

"Did I try marijuana when I was young? The answer is yes. Did I use any
other kind of illegal drug? The answer is no," he said.

When asked if he'd inhaled - a reference to Bill Clinton's infamous line
about smoking marijuana but not inhaling it - Blagojevich had this response:

"I did it twice, and I'm a non-smoker. I don't like it. I run. So I don't
know if I did or not. I never liked the smell of it, but it was a smell
that we all of our generation are very familiar with and I'm sure I'm not
the only one in this room that can recognize that smell," Blagojevich said.
"I just don't know. I did it twice and I was so inept at it that I don't
know if I did or didn't."

Blagojevich received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and a
law degree from Pepperdine University in California. Among the panels
Blagojevich serves on in Congress is a subcommittee on drug policy. He said
he does not support legalization of marijuana and supports anti-drug programs.

Dan Curry, a spokesman for Republican nominee Jim Ryan, 56, the current
Illinois attorney general, said his candidate "has not smoked pot or
otherwise taken any illegal drug."