The article in last week’s Phoenix, “Local lawmakers wary of marijuana legalization bill,” did little in the way of clarifying the positions of our local state representatives on this important topic. 

Only Sen. Seveny presented a very clear position strongly opposed to legalization. Rep. Kenneth Marshall “has not yet made up his mind.” Sen. Walter Felag said, “Right now I have an open mind on the issue…” Rep. Susan Donovan has “not yet decided, but has many questions.”

Just a week ago, the Bristol Warren Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition held an extremely informative forum on substance abuse in our community (see page 3 for coverage). None of our senators or representatives attended the meeting, which was focused on substance abuse in the Bristol-Warren School District. The BWSD is identified by the state of Rhode Island as at or near the top in every substance abuse category. This is in a state that is near the top in most drug abuse categories.

If they had attended this meeting, our representatives would have heard that marijuana today is many times more potent than a generation ago. They would have heard that legalizing marijuana leads to increased youth usage. They would have heard that a well-financed out-of-state lobbying group is behind the push to legalize marijuana.

They would have heard that the perception of risk associated with marijuana among our youth is already low and that legalization further legitimizes an already dangerous drug. They would have heard that the medical community, law enforcement and educators are opposed to legalization. They would have heard that the economic benefits of legalization are not yet clear and are dubious at best. 

They should already know that the health of our community and the future of our youth will never be worth the dubious revenue claims made by the legalization lobby. A good source on the public health impact related to marijuana usage in Rhode Island can be found at www.oceanstateprevention.org. Give our youth a fair shot and do not legalize marijuana.

Michael Byrnes
Bristol