[Dion]

Colorado Governor Says Legalizing Marijuana Was A Bad Idea

During a visit to CNBC’s “Squawk Box” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Colorado governor John Hickenlooper stated that legalizing marijuana was “a bad idea.”

“I don’t think governors should be [in] the position of promoting things that are inherently not good for people,” he said last year. The governor has proposed that the estimated $100 million in annual marijuana sales taxes go toward a statewide media campaign addressing substance abuse treatment and the high risks associated with drug use.

Cully Stimson wrote in an article for The Daily Signal that pot-positive traffic fatalities have gone up 100 percent (even while overall traffic fatalities have decreased), youth consumption of marijuana has increased, marijuana-related emergency room visits have gone up 57 percent, and marijuana-related hospitalizations have increased 82 percent. He also noted that the majority of DUI drug arrests now involve marijuana, and almost 50 percent of people arrested in Denver since pot was legalized have tested positive for marijuana. Another article on The Daily Signal pointed to an informal survey that suggests there has been a 30 percent increase in homelessness since the passing of the amendment as many have flocked to Colorado for the sole purpose of being able to legally obtain marijuana.'

Hickenlooper suggests other governors wait a couple of years before legalizing marijuana in their own states so they can see what the “unintended consequences” of legalization are and learn how to regulate marijuana sales by watching Colorado figure it out first.

http://www.westernjournalism.com/col...uana-bad-idea/