The Democratic governor of Delaware says he remains opposed to legalizing marijuana for adult use, in part because he believes that cannabis can be a gateway to other drugs in certain cases.<\/p>\n
During an interview with WHYY and Delaware Public Media on Monday, Gov. John Carney (D) was pressed on the fact that neighboring states are pursuing cannabis reform and was asked whether his longstanding opposition to legalization had waned in light of that regional shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea,\u201d he said, adding that when he served as lieutenant governor, he spent years \u201ctrying to convince Delawareans to live a healthier lifestyle,\u201d and he feels marijuana use does not fit into that effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spend all this time and money to get people to stop smoking cigarettes and now we want to say it\u2019s okay to just smoke marijuana recreationally,\u201d Carney said<\/a>. \u201cLook, I don\u2019t want to sound like a prude about it, I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you talk to the parents of some of these folks that have overdosed and passed away, they don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea because they remember the trajectory of their own sons and daughters,\u201d the governor said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not suggesting that that\u2019s always a gateway for all that, but if you talk to those Attack Addiction advocates they don\u2019t think it\u2019s a very good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Listen to Carney\u2019s marijuana comments, around 42:30 into the audio below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n When pressed, Carney declined to say whether he would sign or veto a bill to legalize cannabis in Delaware that\u2019s moving through the legislature<\/a>, though he said the proposal is a \u201cbad idea.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have medical marijuana for those who need it for therapeutic purposes,\u201d he said. \u201cAs I look at other states that have it, it just doesn\u2019t seem to me to be a very positive thing from the strength of the community, of the economy in their states. Is it the worst thing in the world? No, of course not.\u201d<\/p>\n Carney\u2019s position put him significantly out of step with the vast majority of Democratic governors across the nation.<\/p>\n Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) is another rare example of a Democratic governor who has consistently opposed legalization, but even he said recently that the policy change \u201cis going to happen in Louisiana eventually.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Carney, on the other hand, appears steadfast in his opposition. And that\u2019s concerning news for advocates who are hoping lawmakers will send a legalization bill to his desk<\/a>. That legislation<\/a> advanced out of one House committee in March and has been referred to another panel.<\/p>\n A legalization bill previously\u00a0received majority support on the House floor in 2018<\/a>, but procedural rules required a supermajority for it to pass and it didn\u2019t meet that threshold.<\/p>\n Despite his wariness, Carney did sign two pieces of marijuana expungement legislation in recent years. In 2017 and 2018, a state\u00a0task force<\/a>\u00a0met to discuss issues related to legalization, and the governor\u00a0hosted<\/a>\u00a0a series of roundtable\u00a0meetings<\/a>\u00a0about cannabis.<\/p>\n Carney\u2019s predecessor approved a measure to decriminalize simple possession of cannabis in 2015.<\/p>\n Connecticut Marijuana Legalization Deal Expected This Week, Top Lawmaker Says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Delaware\u2019s Democratic Governor Reaffirms Opposition To Legalizing Marijuana, Which He Says Can Be A \u2018Gateway\u2019 Drug<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Democratic governor of Delaware says he remains opposed to legalizing marijuana for adult use, in part because he believes that cannabis can be a gateway to other drugs in certain cases. During an interview with WHYY and Delaware Public Media on Monday, Gov. John Carney (D) was pressed onContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47866"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47866"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47867,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47866\/revisions\/47867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Delaware\u2019s Democratic Governor Reaffirms Opposition To Legalizing Marijuana, Which He Says Can Be A \u2018Gateway\u2019 Drug<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"