In the Media

Some leaders say legalizing marijuana could help fix the state's growing budget crisis.

Advocates of legalizing recreational marijuana use still believe it’s the right thing to do, which is why they held a press conference again Tuesday at the Legislative Office Building.

Members of the legislation and some municipal leaders say the legalization of marijuana would remove penalties for adult users, protect consumers with regulation, create jobs and produce strong tax returns for the state.

As a family doctor, in addition to treating and preventing illness in my patients, I am committed to promoting public health. When it comes to marijuana, I believe the best way to do this is to fully legalize its use and closely regulate who can grow and sell it. That is why I speak out as a member of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, a national organization of physicians dedicated to the legalization and regulation of cannabis in the United States.

As clergy, we write in support of proposals to tax and regulate marijuana in Connecticut. It may seem counterintuitive for a rabbi and a minister to adopt this view. We believe, however, that people of faith have a special responsibility to speak about what policies serve our communities best.

The legislature should form a special commission to make recommendations as to how marijuana could best be regulated and taxed for sale to adults aged 21 and older. The panel should be mandated to return its recommendations to the legislature in a subsequent session, at which time we would urge lawmakers to legalize the sale of the drug for recreational use.

Last week, House and Senate Democrats announced a budget proposal that, among other things, would tax and regulate marijuana. As a Hartford City Councilor, this was welcome news. Back in March, I submitted a resolution to support marijuana legalization as a way to generate revenue for our struggling cities that would not increase tax rates.

A self-described “longtime consumer” of marijuana, former NBA All-Star Clifford Robinson has long been an advocate for legalized weed in Oregon, even selling the substance under the name “Uncle Spliffy” (a take on his hoop nickname Uncle Cliffy) and now he’s taking that fight to Connecticut.

Hartford Democrats’ latest iteration of a spending plan for the coming biennium — one that accounts for recently discovered revenue drops spawning barrels of red ink — will create a lot of pain in a lot of as-yet-unspecified places. But if the plan holds, one constituent group — those who support the legalization and retail sale of marijuana for recreational use — will have prevailed.

Senate and House Democrats will recommend the legalization, licensing and taxation of marijuana sales in Connecticut to help balance the next state budget, sources close to the caucus told The Mirror.