I smoked pot, says Colombian presidential candidate

Bogota, May 3 (IANS/EFE) A Colombian presidential candidate has revealed that he smoked marijuana like the majority of his classmates while studying at a US university.

Government-backed candidate Juan Manuel Santos, from the Partido de la U, admitted Sunday that he and his classmates used marijuana during their studies at the University of Kansas.

“During the university phase, I smoked marijuana just as almost all (my) colleagues at the universities did,” Santos said.

Santos studied economic and business administration at the university during the 1970s. He also received a master’s degree in economics and economic development from the London School of Economics and another master’s in public administration from Harvard University.

At an interview to a local radio station, the presidential candidate also appeared ignorant of the bus fares in the capital city.

On being asked about the bus fare in Bogota, he said “1,400 pesos”, when in reality it costs 1,600 pesos to ride the vehicles.

High school and university students had last week blocked streets to protest the fare and scarcity of buses in the city.

In an opinion poll released last week, Santos was lagging behind the candidate for the Green Party, Antanas Mockus, with 26.7 percent votes, while Mockus has the support of 38.7 percent.

The first round of elections in Colombia is scheduled for May 30.

–IANS/EFE