Mayor Rob Ford says he’s smoked “a lot” of marijuana.

Joining a long list of politicians who have confessed to trying pot, Ford smiled and casually said “oh yeah” when asked by a reporter Wednesday if he has ever partaken. Asked how frequently he had smoked, he said, “I’ve smoked a lot of it.”

Ford did not answer when asked how recently he had done the smoking.

The question to Ford was prompted by admissions from other prominent officials over the last week. Marijuana policy has become the subject of renewed debate since Federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau called in July for legalization.

Trudeau acknowledged last week that he had a “puff” of marijuana at a dinner party while serving as an MP three years ago. On Wednesday, Premier Kathleen Wynne said, “I have smoked marijuana, but not for the last 35 years.”

“It’s never been a big part of my life,” Wynne, 60, added, saying her pot smoking was done “very, very infrequently and certainly not since my children were born. And my eldest is 33, so I’m thinking 35 years.”

Asked if she supports legalizing marijuana, allowing for it to be regulated and taxed as Trudeau has proposed, Wynne said she welcomes a debate on that but will stay on the fence for now.

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak and his NDP counterpart Andrea Horwath acknowledged past marijuana use in 2011.

Ford’s previous use was already known. In 1999, before he was elected, he was arrested in Florida after he drove with a joint in his pocket; a possession charge was dropped. (He was convicted for the offence of driving under the influence of alcohol.)

PHOTOS:Politicians who’ve toked — and those who deny toking

Ford told the Toronto Sun in 2010 that he no longer uses marijuana.

“I don’t use drugs. I’m not in that scene,” he said then.

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Ford has refused to say whether he has ever smoked crack cocaine. The Star reported in May on a video that appears to show him smoking crack. Ford later said, “I do not use crack cocaine, nor I am I an addict of crack cocaine.”

Ford, speaking to the media after an economic address at the Cambridge Club men’s fitness centre across from city hall, also said he believes Toronto’s police officers should be equipped with Tasers. Acknowledging concerns about cost, he said he would try to help the Toronto Police Services Board find the money needed.