Malloy favors marijuana decriminalization

Published: October 29, 2010

Believe it or not, Election Day is just four days away. Governor Jodi Rell has been a staunch opponent of sensible marijuana policy reforms, even vetoing a medical marijuana bill in 2007. But with her upcoming departure, Connecticut voters have a chance to replace her with someone with more sensible views. For example, decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Last year the non-partisan Connecticut Office of Fiscal Analysis studied the effects of a bill that would decriminalize possession of under one half ounce of marijuana and determined that such a move would result in over $30 million dollars in savings and revenue.

Even though this simple change seems like a no-brainer, only one of the major party candidates in the race for the governor’s office supports it – Democrat Dan Malloy. At a campaign event at the University of Connecticut, Malloy said he “absolutely” supports decriminalizing marijuana. The subject came up again at a recent debate in Greenwich where Malloy reiterated his support for decriminalizing. His opponent, Republican Tom Foley, however, said he would not support decriminalizing even small amounts of marijuana.

What about medical marijuana? Once again, Malloy says he supports compassionate access to medical marijuana for seriously ill patients. And once again, his opponent is on the wrong side. Foley says he’s against the legalization of marijuana for any purpose, medical or otherwise. It’s hard to figure what Foley is thinking given the unprecedented popular support for medical marijuana today.

So there you have it. One candidate, Malloy, supports decriminalizing marijuana and medical marijuana, and his opponent opposes both. You take it from there. If you need help finding your polling place or checking the status of your registration, visit the  Connecticut Secretary of State’s voter information page. And most importantly, don’t forget to vote!