"Yes. ... I think I was about 22 or 23," Paterson replied. "I tried it a couple of times ... and marijuana, probably when I was about 20. I don't think I've touched marijuana since the late '70s."

His acknowledgment makes the governor the latest in a series of politicians who have been asked and then admitted to using drugs in their youths.

Both ex- Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his Democratic primary challenger, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, were asked in a 2006 debate if they had ever smoked pot -- and both said yes. Paterson said he, too, admitted in 2006 that he had used drugs.

"I don't think that drug use 30 years ago is something that's going to cause a great deal of concern," said Democratic political operative Bob Liff last night. "We all have misspent youth that we might not want to catch up on us, but I don't think it any way disqualifies him."

Earlier in the day, Paterson defended his stays at Albany hotels paid with his state-issued credit card, saying he did so at the behest of then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

"I had to be at the call of the governor, and a few times I was asked to do a few things early on, and I was too far away," Paterson said, referring to the 20- minute commute to his Guilderland home. "So when we had early morning meetings or press conferences, there were 10 or 15 times when I actually stayed in hotels in Albany to accommodate the governor."

He was responding to a published report questioning the stays so close to his home. According to records released by the comptroller's office, Paterson spent more than $2,500, charged to his state credit card, on 13 hotel stays in Albany in an 11-month period. Both hotels used are just two blocks from the Capitol.

Credit card charges do not indicate the nights of the stays, so specific data as to what Paterson was needed for the following mornings was not immediately available. He did spend nights in downtown Albany during the last week of session last year, when marathon meetings of staffs occurred, and during a special session in October.

"When I was legislative leader, I was running the show, so everybody had to wait for me. But when I was working for Governor Spitzer I became basically like staff and you have to be real close to the source," Paterson said in New York City. He also used the card for meals, air travel and hotels elsewhere. The total spent on the card from March 2007 through February was $9,100.

Meanwhile, questions about the uses of campaign money and his recent revelations about adultery have not hurt Paterson's popularity, according to Siena Institute Poll spokesman Steven Greenberg.

"We had three days of these stories out there, in the newspapers, on TV, on radio and it didn't seem to have a noticeable effect," he said. The institute released a poll yesterday that found 58 percent of voters view Paterson favorably, compared with 10 percent who see the new governor unfavorably.

"As he assumes state government's top job, voters are inclined to view Governor Paterson favorably, and they are both hopeful he will be a good governor and optimistic that he will be a problem solver," Greenberg said.

Six in 10 voters said the change in leadership was good for the state and that they are "very or somewhat confident that the new governor and state government will solve the problems faced by New Yorkers."

The telephone survey of 620 registered voters, conducted March 17-21, has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.