New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie didn’t hold back against lawmakers in his state that want to legalize marijuana Monday.
The Republican governor told a forum on substance abuse hosted by the New Jersey Hospital Association it’s “not time for us to be cool and say, ‘Pot’s OK.'”
Democrats in New Jersey’s state Senate are expected to unveil a proposal that would make it the twelfth state to legalize, tax, and regulate recreational marijuana use – a move Christie says is “beyond stupidity.”
“We are in the midst of the public health crisis on opiates,” said Christie, whom has been chosen by President Trump to lead a commission to find ways to combat the rising trend of opioid abuse in America. “But people are saying pot’s OK. This is nothing more than crazy liberals who want to say everything’s OK. Baloney.”
Chrisite has often argued that he believes marijuana is a gateway to harder drugs and contends that if Democratic lawmakers want to legalize marijuana they should also pursue legalizing heroin.
The New Jersey governor pointed to data culled from a 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health that he says shows that a child who tries marijuana between the ages of 12 and 17 is 10 times more likely to be a heroin addict by the time he or she is 24.
Presently, medical marijuana is legal in New Jersey, and a medical panel advising the state Health Department is debating whether chronic pain should be an considered as an illness that qualifies individuals to be able to use medical marijuana.
credit:washingtonexaminer.com
