Drew Vows To Legalize Marijuana If Elected Governor

MIDDLETOWN, CT — Middletown Mayor Dan Drew is vowing to legalize marijuana in Connecticut if he is elected governor. In a campaign email, Drew says legalizing marijuana will help raise revenue to fix Connecticut’s budget crisis and also touts studies that show the rate of opioid overdoses dropped in states that have legalized cannabis.

Drew, a Democrat, said that estimates of “roughly $100 million in added revenue would indeed make a big difference in tackling our budget deficit.”

“So would the savings we’d see by ending the costly enforcement of marijuana laws and ridiculous prison costs,” Drew says in the campaign email. “Police officers could go back to protecting us from real threats, corrections costs would go down, and people’s lives would no longer be destroyed because of unjust marijuana laws

“By regulating our marijuana markets and ending a lengthy prohibition, Connecticut can create a new agricultural sector in the Connecticut River Valley. The state can protect the tens of thousands of Connecticut cannabis consumers from tainted products and unknown potencies. Our government can stop the destructive drug policies that disproportionately impact both poor and minority communities. Legalizing marijuana will help raise revenue to fix Connecticut’s budget crisis.”

Drew also said that as a mayor he has seen “firsthand the tragedy of opioid abuse and overdose in the city of Middletown.”

“Studies have shown that the rate of opioid overdoses dropped in states that have legalized cannabis,” Drew said. “If we can save lives with the legalization of cannabis, then that alone should be a significant reason to move forward on the legalization of marijuana.”

The first gubernatorial debate of the season will focus on recreational and medical marijuana, according to the Hartford Courant. The debate, which is presented by Connecticut NORML and Yale Students for Sensible Drug Policy, will take place on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. at 1 Prospect Street in New Haven.

Drew is confirmed to participate, along with former state Sen. Jonathan Harris of West Hartford and Afghanistan war veteran Micah Welintukonis, according to the Courant.

Image via Shutterstock