Somewhere around Las Vegas on the edge of the desert (CNN) The first thing Martin O'Malley did after he climbed into CNN's red convertible headed for Las Vegas was turn down our offer of beer and a hit of ether to sustain him for the ride.

The offer was an empty one anyway — we had neither — but the desert makes people do strange things. Such as, in the case of Democratic presidential candidate O'Malley, agreeing to be picked up in the desert in a car driven by a journalist just days just before the Democratic presidential debate.

Our conversation turned to drug policy, and how O'Malley would respond as president if more states followed the lead of Colorado and Washington in legalizing marijuana.

"I think we need to have an open mind about that," said O'Malley, who signed a law while he was the governor of Maryland that legalized the drug for medicinal use. "I think there's a lot we can learn from Colorado and Washington State. They seem to be keeping very good records. They understand they are the first in the nation, and I think we should be guided by what they are doing in Colorado increases harm or reduces harm."

O'Malley added that he himself had never tried marijuana.

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