Vote Expected on Legalized Marijuana in Special Session

The House of Representatives is expected to vote June 16 on legislation that would legalize and commercialize recreational marijuana usage, roughly a week after an original version of the bill made headlines for a controversial provision granting a single individual a backdoor around the regulatory process.

If the rat buried deep inside last week’s version of the bill is any indication, you can expect connected individuals to benefit from this system. Meanwhile, our roads or schools won’t improve because of this. Despite what they say, legalized weed won’t improve our state’s finances.

Revenues are expected to reach $55 million by FY26, but by FY29 the bulk of that money—75 percent—would be diverted away from the General Fund into a “social equity and innovation fund.” What’s more, that fund will be largely governed by an unelected Social Equity Council that will not only control that money in perpetuity but also manage who can apply for priority licenses. It’s a blow to transparency.

The Social Equity Council won’t feature experts in public health, addiction services, or mental health. Law enforcement won’t be represented, either. That’s akin to what we saw during legislative hearings on the topic, where representatives from the state’s Department of Public Health and its Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services were notably absent.

They did, however, take the time to handcuff police. It would be illegal to smoke cannabis while driving, but if an officer sees someone smoking the officer couldn’t pull over the driver. Likewise, if an officer pulls over a vehicle full of teenagers and smells cannabis smoke, the officer wouldn’t have probable cause to search the car for drugs even though it’s illegal for those under 21 to use the drug.

It’s a continuation of a radical trend from Democrats, who are intent on eroding what’s left of our state’s criminal justice system. Over the last five months, they fought efforts to tackle the juvenile car theft crisis and instead focused their efforts on automatically erasing criminal records.

Unfortunately, we’ll be left to deal with problems like those seen in Colorado, where legalization of marijuana led to increased traffic deaths, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations. Such problems will be exacerbated here by a black market that will flourish due to the three layers of taxes on retail sales.

Regardless of how you feel about legalization of marijuana in general, what Democrats have proposed just won’t work. Their bill won’t deliver the promised financial benefits, invites cronyism, and falls short of meeting the needs of societal problems this decision will introduce.