The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol issued the following statement in response to Gov. Charlie Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s announcement on Thursday that they have formed a committee to oppose the campaign’s initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Massachusetts.
Earlier in the day, the Western New England University Polling Institute released the results of a statewide survey that found 57% of Massachusetts voters support the proposed initiative and just 35% are opposed.
Statement from Jim Borghesani, communications director for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol:
“Our campaign will not allow our opponents to claim the high road on matters of public health and safety. The truth is that the greatest danger associated with marijuana is its illegal status. Our opponents seem to prefer that criminals control the marijuana market and sell untested, unlabeled products to people of any age.
“Gov. Baker and others need to understand that conflating the opioid epidemic with marijuana sends a very dangerous message to our youth. The blurring of lines between drugs in this country is a pattern that started with Richard Nixon more than four decades ago. And it has caused more harm than good. We need to be honest with our kids —heroin kills, marijuana does not. There is no more evidence that using marijuana leads to heroin than there is that riding a tricycle leads to joining the Hells Angels.
“We share the goal of reducing marijuana use among youth, but we think regulating it is much better than leaving drug cartels and criminals in control. The current system is very dangerous for consumers who purchase marijuana that is not tested, not labeled, and not packaged in child-resistant containers. And, of course, drug dealers don’t ask for IDs.
“The people of Massachusetts recognize that we as a society would be better off with marijuana sold in regulated stores. This is why 57% of voters — including 74% of voters under the age of 40 — said they would vote in favor of our initiative in a recent survey by Western New England University.”
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Source: The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is supporting a 2016 statewide ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://www.RegulateMassachusetts.org.
