Marijuana Bill Being Heard in the Senate Subcommittee Tomorrow!
Victoria Cobb, President
Monday, January 18, 2021
Last month we let you know how Governor Northam and the liberal majority in the legislature were poised to push for the legalization of recreational marijuana, which would launch Virginia down a very dangerous road that will harm our kids, families and communities. Tomorrow, January 19, a Senate subcommittee will take up SB 1406 (D-Ebbin), the primary vehicle to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Virginia.
Click HERE to contact your Delegate or Senator and urge them to Reject Marijuana Legalization!
While some legislators and the Governor promise to legalize marijuana “the right way,” the reality is there is NO way to mitigate the damages this drug currently has, and will be exacerbated if legalized. Here are a few reasons why legalization of recreational marijuana is a bad idea:
1. Children and Adolescents will be harmed
According to Parents Opposed to Pot, child deaths linked to marijuana use by parents included violence, fires, drownings, violent neglect, exposure neglect and being left in a hot car.
Since Colorado legalized marijuana, emergency room visits by toddlers who consume edibles increased 54% and hospitalizations increased 101% from year to year. Colorado has also seen increased addiction and suicide -- from 2016 to 2019, the rate of teen suicide increased by 58% (the cause of one in five adolescent deaths).
2. Increased Automobile Accidents and Fatalities
Since recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado, all traffic deaths increased 24 percent. In addition, the percentage of all Colorado traffic deaths that were marijuana related increased from 15% in 2013 to 25% in 2019. Currently, there is no accurate breathalyzer for THC or marijuana consumption.
3. Legalizing marijuana will make it far more difficult for Virginia to recover from the economic devastation of the COVID pandemic.
According to economic forecasters like Moody’s Analytics, recovery could take years. With nearly 1.3 million Virginians having filed unemployment claims since March 14, and the fact that according to the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission, setting up the infrastructure to facilitate the legal sale of marijuana would cost Virginia between $8 - $20 million up front, legalizing marijuana would be irresponsible, and would disincentivize productivity needed for recovery.
There’s been a push across the nation to relax drug laws, most recently Oregon, which became the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine in November. We must do whatever we can to prevent that from happening in Virginia, and it begins with stopping the legalization of marijuana.
Click HERE to tell your Legislators that Legalizing Marijuana is a Dead-End Road!
