HARRISBURG – Rep. Marla Brown (R-Lawrence) this week voted “no” on legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania. Brown issued the following statement after the House approved House Bill 1200:
“The 173-page bill was just introduced Sunday, May 4, and was fast tracked through the House Health Committee, of which I am a member, Monday. It was quickly brought up for a final vote in the House on Wednesday. It’s a misguided mess that does nothing to help Pennsylvanians who could benefit from the work we should be doing on boosting homegrown energy and matching our educational systems to the jobs of the future.
“The quick turnaround of this bill allowed virtually no time for the public – the people who would be most deeply impacted by this proposal – to see it, understand its implications and share their comments or concerns with the legislators they elected to be their voice at the state Capitol.”
Rep. Marla Brown (R-Lawrence)
Brown strongly criticized the legislation as reckless and dangerous, especially at a time when Pennsylvania is still battling the opioid and heroin epidemics.
“As Pennsylvania continues to grapple with the devastating opioid crisis, the last thing we need is to introduce another addictive substance that will only deepen our public health crisis,” she said. “Legalizing marijuana in the name of revenue is a dangerous pipe dream that ignores the real costs, including addiction, impaired workplaces, increased hospital visits and rising teen use.”
Brown pointed to troubling data from other states where legalization has led to crime spikes, black-market growth and unintended consequences.
“This bill isn’t about helping Pennsylvanians. It’s about chasing tax revenue at the expense of public safety and health. We are setting a dangerous precedent, and I will continue to fight against policies that put lives at risk. We should not be risking the health of our residents to balance the state budget,” she concluded.
House Bill 1200 now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Prohibition and Reefer Madness are only pushed and believed by a very small, lunatic-fringe minority of irrational looney-tune Holier Than Thou types that are on a never ending little personal moral-crusade and witch-hunt against relatively benign cannabis and it’s consumers. The rest of us sane, rational, normal Americans just laugh our butts off at and mock utterly desperate lying prohibitionists and their ridiculous Reefer-Madness-Rhetoric as the comedy show they truly are!
It’s time for us, the majority of The People to take back control of our national cannabis policy. By voting OUT of office any and all politicians who very publicly and vocally admit to having an anti-cannabis, prohibitionist agenda! Time to vote’em all OUT of office. Period. Plain and simple.
Politicians who continue to demonize Cannabis, Corrupt Law Enforcement Officials who prefer to ruin peoples lives over Cannabis possession rather than solve real crimes who fund their departments toys and salaries with monies acquired through cannabis home raids, seizures and forfeitures, and so-called “Addiction Specialists” who make their income off of the judicial misfortunes of our citizens who choose cannabis, – Your actions go against The Will of The People and Your Days In Office Are Numbered! Find new careers before you don’t have one.
The People have spoken! Get on-board with Cannabis Legalization Nationwide, or be left behind and find new careers. Your choice.