Judiciary Passes Legalization of Marijuana Bills, Rep. McGorty votes NO

HARTFORD – State Representative Ben McGorty voted no on legislation in the Judiciary Committee on Monday that if passed by the General Assembly will legalize the retail sale and possession of marijuana.

Rep. McGorty said, “Legalizing marijuana during an opioid crisis doesn’t send the right message to children and young adults. Marijuana is a drug and one that has a negative impact on the brains of children and young adults. Legalizing marijuana will not help us battle the opioid crisis and the only people who will profit will be big tobacco companies who are dominating the industry.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the only state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana through the legislature was Vermont. Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C. passed the legalization or recreational marijuana not through the legislature.

Rep. McGorty added, “Marijuana is still illegal on the Federal level, which means that the state will have to create a state bank to collect the money. In addition, lawmakers want this money to go back to the cities, not drug-related rehabilitation programs or to help us end the opioid crisis. The legalization money grab should not move and I will be working with my colleagues to defeat the proposal.”

To read the legislation visit cga.ct.gov and search Senate Bill 1085.