New York, .- The Catholic Conference of the State of New York criticized this Wednesday harshly the plan of the local authorities to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, and stressed the harmful effects that this measure would have on minors.
“We are more concerned about the consequences of increased use in adolescents and children, the harmful effects on developing brains, addiction, the natural progression to harder drugs, or the increase in traffic accidents or deaths that may result,” he said. in a statement the organization.
Specifically, the Catholic Conference in New York expressed concern about the normalizing effect it would have on children, even though the use of marijuana would be legal only for people over 21 years of age.
“As we have seen in the alcohol and tobacco industry, companies that produce harmful products always find a way to sell them to children,” the letter added.
He also emphasized the difference in the impact of the measures taken by the security forces to control their possession, which affects the black race and Hispanics more.
“The state can and should take the appropriate measures to ensure that the color of the skin and the zip code do not lead to different results for the same offense,” the statement said.
In the text, the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, was also accused of being more concerned with filling the state coffers through the new taxes that would be paid with the marijuana trade.
The agency noted that “vice is not an appropriate engine for the development of the economy for a state that prides itself on being a progressive national leader.”
Cuomo, who has had the support of an Assembly and a Democratic Senate since November, hopes that the bill that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, which has already been approved by the Department of Health, will be approved in the first 100 days of this year.
In New York it is legal to use marijuana for medical purposes for certain diseases such as AIDS, cancer or chronic diseases.
In the neighboring state of New Jersey, where medical marijuana is also legal, its governor, Phill Murphy, called in January for “2019 to begin ending what they started” last year, in reference to the approval of the recreational marijuana project. , whose discussion has already begun in the Assembly and the State Senate.
The states of Colorado, Alaska, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have already legalized marijuana. (EFEUSA)
