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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford laughs during a press conference to announce the city's plan to clean up debris following the ice storm in Toronto, ON, Thursday, January 2, 2014.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford dodged questions about decriminalizing marijuana Thursday afternoon, saying it's a "federal issue" and telling reporters to "go talk to the Prime Minister."

Mr. Ford was asked about marijuana after comments he made earlier the same day on a Washington, D.C.-based radio show called "The Sports Junkies."

"Why wouldn't they at least decriminalize it and try to get revenue from it?" he asked on the show.

Mr. Ford, who has said in the past that he has smoked "a lot" of marijuana, said that, as long as the Conservatives are in power, it's unlikely that decriminalization will happen.

But just hours later, in a press conference with City Hall reporters, he refused to elaborate on his comments. "I said it's a federal issue. We have nothing to do with that," he said.

"Go talk to the Prime Minister," he continued to say. "Am I the Prime Minister?"

Mr. Ford also told the radio hosts that he did indeed give his wife money for Christmas — $5,000 to be exact.

The mayor says he took some flak for his comment during his last call to the show that he would give his wife cash for Christmas because "women love money, but she was 'really happy'" with the present.

With files from the Canadian Press

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