Professional anti-cannabis advocates have been attempting to derail the legalization of adult-use marijuana in Connecticut and other states by mischaracterizing its impact in other parts of the country, including my home state of Colorado.
It’s time to set the record straight, clear the political rhetoric and pass thoughtful legislation in Connecticut to legalize marijuana for adult use.
I was once opposed to the adult-use legalization myself. Most of our elected officials and community leaders were convinced it would lead to increased teen use, destroy our economy and hamper the tourism industry.
Having seen the effects of legalization firsthand, I can tell you none of this has come true, and my opinion has changed.
When Colorado voters passed Amendment 64 in 2012 to authorize marijuana legalization, I was serving as Denver City Attorney. We became the first major city in the United States to implement adult use marijuana. I later served as Chief of Staff to then-Colorado Governor Hickenlooper, where our administration worked hard to improve the state’s marijuana laws and regulation.
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Legalizing adult-use marijuana benefited Colorado, could help Connecticut: Op-ed
"Cannabis at Oregon State Fair 6" by Oregon Department of Agriculture is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0