Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont called upon the state to commercialize marijuana during his annual State of the State address.
Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration, released the following statement in response:
“In the midst of an unprecedented respiratory pandemic and overdose epidemic, it is a terrible idea to commercialize high potency marijuana, a drug that can not only compromise your lungs and immune system but also bring about serious mental health issues. It’s a risky proposition for Connecticut, and won’t make anyone other than a handful of mostly white investors rich.
“Furthermore, tax revenues wouldn’t be realized for years to come. Leadership in Hartford needs to be laser-focused on addressing the fallout from the pandemic, not debating on how best to enrich Big Pot’s investors.
“We will continue to work with a broad coalition of folks in the state to stand for good policy and urge the legislature to reject legalization, as they have in previous years. We’re confident we will prevail.”