Drug-use Admissions Boost Candidates Poll Numbers in Quebec

Marois jumps on drug bandwagon
Admits to smoking pot at age 19. Boisclair's standings in PQ leadership race surged after making similar confession

PHILIP AUTHIER
Montreal Gazette, Canada
October 17, 2005

It's done wonders for Andre Boisclair in the polls. Now another Parti Quebecois leadership candidate has admitted consuming illegal drugs.

Pauline Marois, the No. 2 candidate in the race, yesterday confirmed she had tried pot when she was 19, including inhaling. But she did not like it and stopped, Marois said at the end of a televised debate on TVA.

On Sept. 19, front-runner Boisclair admitted he used cocaine in the past and his standing in the polls immediately shot up as Quebecers bought into his line that he made mistakes in his youth he's not proud of.

The straightlaced, 56-year-old Marois, meanwhile, has seen her standing slip. Political cartoonists have made fun of the situation, portraying her as suddenly turning into a drug addict in a bid to save her campaign.