Stay away from the kids in Portland and Cromwell!

We Must Keep Drugs Out Of The Hands Of Our Children!

As state legislators, our primary job is to protect the health and welfare of Connecticut residents, especially our children. When a piece of legislation comes before me, I ask myself the following question:

Will this help or hurt our state’s citizens?

A bill was voted on in the Judiciary Committee last week, in the wee hours of the morning, which erases the 1500 ft. drug-free school zone used to protect school children from drug users and dealers. Senate Bill 952 will also reduce felony drug possession charges to slap-on-the-wrist misdemeanors.

My disgust cannot be any greater. Who is asking for this and why?

Parents do their best to teach their kids about the dangers of drug use. Our schools have multiple programs that teach students to discourage dangerous addiction habits.  I voted against this bill, yet, it passed out of committee.

The creators of this bill claim that their intent is to give drug offenders a second chance at turning their lives around by reducing charges to simple misdemeanors. This is a falsehood.

Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice agreed when he testified against this bill in February.

“S.B. No. 952 that would eviscerate the drug possession statutes and reclassify a host of serious crimes as misdemeanors. The legislation is not only ill-advised, it is also poorly written, “ Kane testified. He also explained that Connecticut drug offenders often receive multiple chances before they face any threat of long term incarceration.

As a society that safeguards the safety and the health of our citizens, we should be more concerned with a child’s first chance. We have to make drugs like heroin and cocaine harder for kids to get in their hands, and we have to punish those who prey on our children.

I have a message for those who side with the hardcore drug users who may now more easily roam through our communities. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

Stay away from the kids in Portland and Cromwell!