Connecticut should legalize marijuana now

As I’m sure you’re aware, Colorado voted in a November 2011 ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana and regulate like alcohol. I am proud to have voted in favor of legalization in Colorado and hope that Connecticut will adopt an initiative process so that citizens can decide issues like these for themselves.

A few months ago, I returned to Connecticut from Colorado, where I lived from September 2011 through the end of 2015.

As I’m sure you’re aware, Colorado voted in a November 2011 ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana and regulate like alcohol. I am proud to have voted in favor of legalization in Colorado and hope that Connecticut will adopt an initiative process so that citizens can decide issues like these for themselves.

People often ask me if things changed appreciably after legalization. In many respects, they didn’t. Marijuana use in Colorado was relatively discrete (it was an exceedingly rare day in Denver or Boulder when you would smell marijuana — something you’re more likely to encounter in New York or San Francisco) and legalization protected this type of consumption — consumption in one’s home but not in public.

Adults used marijuana both before and after legalization. From what I could tell, usage did not increase appreciably. Addiction is a serious concern with any drug but findings from The Institute of Medicine, the health organization associated with the National Academy of Sciences, show that marijuana addiction rates (9 percent ) are lower than those of tobacco (32 percent), alcohol (15 percent ), and heroine (23 percent ). These drugs often have lethal consequences. Marijuana does not.

Looking at consumption among minors, it was largely unchanged.

In fact, the largest study conducted on the matter, the 17,000 member Healthy Kids Colorado survey conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, showed that use among minors actually fell slightly, to below the national average. This is encouraging as recent research has showed the detrimental effect of adolescent marijuana consumption on brain development and we ought to educate young people about this real danger.

In this respect, real changes did occur in Colorado. The first $40 million of the state’s 15 percent excise tax goes to school construction — directly aiding the public education system. Of the state’s 10 percent special sales tax on marijuana, a significant portion goes toward addressing behavioral health issues in public schools broadly, and prevention and intervention related to substance abuse specifically across the state.

This is just one of the advantages of regulating and taxing marijuana, which is now bringing in over $100 million annually to Colorado’s coffers. I now know individuals who work in the burgeoning marijuana industry and have witnessed how money that used to go to drug cartels now funds new businesses. As marijuana-related arrests among adults fell 76 percent with legalization, the disproportionate impact of drug-related offenses on communities of color was lessened significantly.

Connecticut should face the facts. It should acknowledge that many residents — both adults and minors — already consume marijuana. Legalization won’t mean the collapse of society. Rather, by taxing and regulating the substance, the state can fund public policies to help mitigate areas of concern. And who knows — Connecticut just might end up with more businesses and more tax dollars — something it sorely needs!