Jeb Bush Admits to Smoking Pot During CNN’s Republican Debate, Apologizes to His Mom

Jeb Bush

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Polly Mosendz

By Polly Mosendz

Reporter

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Although it had been previously reported that Jeb Bush indulged in recreational marijuana as a young man, the Republican presidential candidate openly shared that information during a debate hosted by CNN on Wednesday evening.

When the candidates were asked how they would handle marijuana legalization, Rand Paul said he was in favor of it primarily in cases of medical need, offering an example of a child who uses marijuana to treat seizures. But in an anonymous dig that moderators pressed him on, Paul said someone else on stage was a hypocrite for having used marijuana in the past while opposing legalization efforts now. Paul hedged on naming names but Bush stepped in, saying he knew Paul was referring to him.

Paul has been less circumspect in the past. "When Jeb was a very wealthy kid at a very elite school, he used marijuana but didn't get caught, didn't have to go to prison," he said in February. "I think it shows some hypocrisy that's going to be very difficult for young people to understand why we'd put a 65-year-old guy in jail for medical marijuana."

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