The City Council Speaker Has Inhaled

In an unexpected admission, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Thursday that she supports full legalization of marijuana, and admitted that she has smoked it in the past.

"Based on the conversations we’ve been seeing nationally, the direction that people feel about it, I think that it’s just something that is appropriate at this time," said Mark-Viverito when asked why she supported legalization, adding, "and if you are asking if I have ever smoked marijuana? Yes."

A spokesman for Mark-Viverito characterized her marijuana use as "a long time ago" and and not while she was an elected official.

The speaker's support for legalization puts her at odds with Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who both said they were opposed to legalizing marijuana as recently as Monday when they unveiled the city's new policy for dealing with low-level marijuana offenses.

Her comments came just hours before Mayor de Blasio convened a meeting at City Hall with Commissioner Bratton and all five of the city's district attorneys to talk about the impact of that policy.