A legislative hearing on marijuana legalization in Connecticut began Wednesday, Marh 22, 2017 with sharp disagreement over the risks of recreational pot. In this hearing, the Connecticut Judiciary Committee heard recreational marijuana opinions.
The hearing comes while Connecticut is facing a $1.7 billion budget gap for the fiscal year that begins July 1. A laundry list of unpopular spending cuts to cities and towns, social services and environmental programs, have been proposed.
Experts estimate that taxes from recreational marijuana sales could bring in $13 million in revenue in the first six months, $64 million in the first full year of legalization, and $100 million a year after that for CT.
The legalization bill would regulate marijuana like alcohol, prohibiting marijuana use by anyone under 21. It would limit legal possession to no more than 1 ounce of marijuana; and allow home cultivation of five plants per adult.
The bill allows for five types of marijuana businesses, all licensed and regulated by the state: pot retailers, lounges, cultivation facilities, product manufacturers, and laboratories.
A member of the Connecticut Association of Prevention Professionals, warned that lawmakers risk “opening a floodgate” to more drug abuse, traffic fatalities and hospital visits.
John Hudak, an expert from the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution, said he wasn’t testifying for or against legalization. He explained, state taxes on pot could make the price of legal marijuana too high, convincing consumers “to stick with the black market” or buy pot in other states, which would reduce the amount of state revenue. Setting taxes too low could make a state’s legal marijuana so inexpensive that it might encourage over use.
Students, in high school testified against legalizing pot, arguing that it would lead to increased teen use of marijuana. (Trends in other states show otherwise).
Rep. Toni Walker, a New Haven Democrat on the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, said making pot use a criminal offense pushes young people into the court and prison systems. Additionally, Walker explained that studies out of legal states, like Washington, found only 3 percent of drivers involved in fatal accidents in that state between 2010 and 2014 had been using marijuana. Studies have found that pot “was not the main factor” in the vast majority of accidents, and that alcohol and texting and other types of distracted driving are all more significant issues with accident than marijuana use.
Sources: Courant.com
