Margaret Trudeau once said that quitting marijuana helped improve her mental health, but she stands behind her prime minister-designate son’s plan to legalize pot, which she says is a “whole different issue.”

In an interview with CTV Canada AM co-host Marci Ien, Justin Trudeau’s mother seemed taken aback when asked about her previous comments on marijuana.

At a mental health conference in 2007, Trudeau said that her battle with mental illness involved completely giving up marijuana, which she started smoking at a young age.

“Did I say that?” she asked, when Ien referred to her prior statements Wednesday.

Trudeau said she still stands by the comments she made years ago, but that Justin Trudeau’s pledge to legalize marijuana is “a whole different issue.”

She said she had been “very pro-active” about getting healthy at the height of her struggle with mental illness, and that involved staying away from things like pot.

“Substance abuse and mental illness go together like this,” she said. “Appreciating that, recognizing the addiction, and then dealing with what’s underneath it so that you don’t have to reach for artificial ways of having peace of mind, of having joy and happiness.”

Her oldest son has pledged to start working on legalizing and regulating marijuana soon after taking office. Justin Trudeau has not set a firm timeline for legalization, but said he would make it an early priority.

His mother said smoking marijuana is “an adult choice that you make” and the proposed legalization is “just a way to regulate it, because it’s a reality.”

“Children under the age of 18 should not smoke marijuana and that is the truth,” she said.

“And we’ve got to have strong controls and education so that they understand that we’re talking about their brain health – the most important thing.”