During a press conference on Wednesday, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts made a statement about marijuana that many found to be ridiculous and hypocritical. “This is a dangerous drug that will impact our kids,” the Governor said. “If you legalize marijuana, you’re going to kill your kids. That’s what the data shows from around the country … Big pot, big marijuana is a big industry. This a big industry that is trying not to be regulated, to go around the regulatory process. And that’s going to put people at risk, when you go around regulations that are designed for the health and safety of our society.”
These comments come during lawmakers’ consideration of Legislative Bill 474, which would legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska. The bill does not legalize or decriminalize recreational marijuana, and would include very strict rules for consuming cannabis.
The CDC has data that pushes back against the Governor’s claims, calling a fatal marijuana overdose “unlikely.” The CDC also points to data that conflicts with the claim of marijuana being a “gateway drug,” saying that “The majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, ‘harder’ substances.”
Many Twitter users called out Ricketts for his remarks, calling him a fear monger or a hypocrite, especially when he refused to properly implement mask mandates in his state.
What do you think? Are Ricketts’ comments ludicrous or does he have a point? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
[Via]