The Kids Toke — Or Choke?

Hartford — State Rep. Josh Elliott is a lawmaker, successful business owner and law school graduate. He is also, he said Tuesday, a casual marijuana user pushing to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana in the state.

Elliott, a 32-year-old first-term legislator from Hamden, presented himself as the face of generational change as hearings began at the Capitol over bills aimed at legalizing recreational use of marijuana in Connecticut, a quest pushed by several New Haven lawmakers.

Opponents, meanwhile, began pressing their arguments by putting kids front and center, as both sides of the debate focused on the proposals’ impact on different groups of young people — millennials, or children.

End Of A Long Day

During a press conference Tuesday to launch the Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana and to promote already existing bipartisan support for legalization, Elliott declared his ​“intermittent and casual use” of cannabis. He smokes marijuana, he said, in much the same way a person might end a long day.

“I don’t get high and go to work,” he said. ​“I don’t get high and drive. I get high when I come home and feel like watching some TV. I do it socially with friends. It’s not an escape for me. I do it the same way that someone might have a drink after work, or take a hike in the woods.”

The press conference was held in advance of a public hearing Tuesday of the legislature’s Public Health Committee that included a bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Melissa H. Ziobron of East Haddam, one of a series of bills raised this session that would legalize, regulate and tax the drug. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has for years opposed the idea but said this year it might come to fruition because neighboring states have gone the legalization route.

Elliott said he believes that much of the resistance to legalizing marijuana use is generational and the number of people who support legal use are starting to surpass those who see all drug use as bad. That’s why he had no problem making himself a poster child of sorts for legal use, he said.

Public support in the United States has shifted significantly in the last decade, with 57 percent of adults favoring legal marijuana uses, while 37 percent say it should remain illegal, according to a Pew Research Center. Ten years ago, opinion was just the opposite, with 60 percent opposing legalization.

Elliott argued that millennials like him, Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers are driving that shift.

But Elliott, sponsor of a bill similar to Ziobron’s, wasn’t the only one who had youth on his mind.

Opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana, organized under the moniker Stop Pot CT, held their own press event here Tuesday, nearly simultaneously and across the lobby from the pro-marijuana event. Their message: Marijuana is bad for kids.

The bills being considered restrict legal, recreational marijuana use to those who are 21 and older. Opponents suggested Tuesday that legalization would only increase its appeal to adolescents. They pointed out that studies have shown that the developing mind does not do well under the influence of marijuana.

Some of the strongest voices for that view were a couple of high school students and youth leaders of Guilford DAY, an organization which focuses on reducing high-risk behaviors such as underage drinking and substance abuse among teens.

Danielle Ott said that the perception of the danger of marijuana use has already dropped, and will drop further with legalization. She encouraged people to stop using the word ​“recreational” to describe legal use.

“The term ​‘recreational’ associates with being fun, or activities that are meant to be pleasurable and good for kids,” she said.

Ott also pointed to a hallmark of capitalism: supply and demand. Marijuana companies want to sell you weed and they want you to be a loyal repeat customer, she said.

“Big marijuana companies are looking to make this the next big tobacco,” she said. ​“Youth are really the group they want to be targeting because that’s where addiction will develop. These big companies are trying to get kids addicted early … and the harmful effect of these mixed messages will definitely get through.

“And it’s absolutely important to recognize that we look to all of you as our leaders,“Ott added. ​“What you perceive as OK, is what we will begin to perceive as OK.”

Puff Or Pass

Proponents of legalization from New Haven argued Tuesday that prohibition hasn’t worked. Kids, and other people, still get high, and addiction persists. They argued legalization would stop the criminalization of minority communities, refocus substance abuse as a public health problem and help the state raise some much needed revenue.

State Rep. Juan Candelaria, who has introduced marijuana legislation in the past and has introduced another bill this session, said the illicit drug trade is an estimated $350 million, black market business. By not legalizing marijuana ​“we’re actually subsidizing the drug lords that are trafficking drugs through the state,” he argued.

He said with an estimated 63 percent of Connecticut voters in favor of legalization, it’s time to act.

“This is sensible legislation,” he said. ​“We cannot continue to subsidize and spend additional money on incarceration and our criminal justice system. Those are dollars that can be refocused in other areas. The fact is that marijuana is in the state of Connecticut. That’s a fact. [It’s] here and we have to deal with the situation.”

State Rep. Toni Walker, who co-chairs the powerful appropriations committee, said that given the state’s projected budget deficit it’s time to look at new sources of revenue, including new industries.

“This could potentially generate $63 million in tax revenue in the first year of legalization and $104 million the second year,” she said. ​“It could create up to 15,000 new jobs in agriculture, manufacturing, retail and other fields.”

She said one also must look at the dark side of marijuana particularly the role it has played in mass incarceration.

“We have a severe problem with the incarceration of people,” she said. ​“Just in 2012, 750,000 people have been incarcerated for touching or using marijuana. [Possession of marijuana] accounts for half of the drug arrests in America today. It creates an unnecessary exposure to the criminal justice system. Prohibition hasn’t worked. It’s time to legalize, regulate and control what is being dispensed out in the communities, control the process by which it’s produced and it’s also time that we tax it. We should address it just like alcohol and tobacco.”

State Rep. Robyn Porter said the legalization of marijuana is about social justice. Porter, who lives in New Haven’s Newhallville neighborhood, said that while Elliott presents a socially acceptable face of marijuana use, people who look like her bear the brunt of punishment for illegal use.

“That’s not fair,” she said. ​“What’s more important to me is to level the playing field. Like Josh, there are people who smoke marijuana, and they’re productive. They are no less a citizen than you or I.”

Opponents said the risks of legalization are just too high, pointing to the potential increased costs for medical care and public safety, the societal costs of driving under the influence and the increased burden for employers to maintain a safe workplace.

“This is a serious issue and we do believe it is a public safety issue,” said Monroe Police Chief John Salvatore, Connecticut Police Chiefs Association president. ​“We believe recreational marijuana use in Connecticut will diminish the quality of life in our state.”

Salvatore said police lack an instrument to adequately measure the active chemical in marijuana, known as THC. He pointed to negative experiences that police have faced since legalization came to Colorado and Washington State, such as increased crime and homelessness, adding to law enforcement’s burden.

He said any increase in government revenue would be offset by the costs to regulate and police the industry. ​“Illegal distribution has not been diminished in the state of Colorado,” Salvatore added.

Elliott said he’d be willing to concede that there is potential for bad things to happen, if opponents were willing to concede that there is a potential that bad things won’t happen.

“When I think of smoking cannabis with friends, I’m reminded about the relative harmlessness of the drug based on repeat experience,” he said. ​“When an abolitionist hears about someone withering away their life to marijuana, they are reminded about the social ills marijuana creates. Then through anecdotal evidence they attribute causality when there isn’t even a correlation.”

Elliott said he has learned that he’s likely not going to change the minds of those who strongly oppose legalization, and acknowledged that both sides make valid arguments.

“I’m willing to accept that there are people who abuse this drug,” he said. ​“But I wonder if opponents of legalizing marijuana are willing to accept there are people who don’t abuse this drug. There is room for us to meet in the middle, and I’m willing to do that. It’s time for our state to lead by example. We can be better. We can be honest. It’s time to stop using marijuana as a tool to marginalize people. If there is abuse, let’s address the underlying problem. But when there isn’t, let’s tax it and treat the sale and use like any other industry. “

Following is a status report on bills of particular interest to New Haven before the state legislature this session:

The 2017 Agenda

Bill #	Status	Summary	Sponsors
SB11/ HB5539	Committee Denied	Would legalize, tax recreational use of marijuana.	Candelaria Dillon Lemar Walker Porter et al
SB 17	Committee Approved	Would make certain undocumented immigrant students (DREAMers) eligible for state college financial aid.	Looney
HB 5434	Committee Approved	Would have CT join with other states to elect the President based on popular, rather than Electoral College, vote.	Winfield, Porter Albis Elliott D’Agostino et al.
HB 5458, HB 6058	Committee Approved	Would establish electronic tolls on state highways.	Genga
HB 5575/HB 7126	Passed Senate	Would regulate companies such as Uber and Lyft.	Scanlon
HB 5589	Passed House	Would expand disclosure requirements for contributions to campaign funds.	Dillon Lemar D’Agostino Elliott et al.
HB 5591	Passed House	Would require equal pay for employees doing comparable work.	Dillon Walker Lemar Albis D’Agostino Elliott et al.
HB 5703	Committee Denied	Would have CT enter into an agreement with other states to limit ​“poaching” of each other’s businesses.	Lemar
HJ 13/HJr 95	Passed House	Would amend the state constitution to permit early voting.	Lemar
HJ 16	In Commitee	Would amend the state constitution to permit absentee voting for all voters.	Lemar
SB 1/HB 6212	Committee Approved	Would require employers to provide paid family and medical leave for their employees.	Looney
SB 2	Committee Approved	Would make the education funding formula more equitable.	Duff
SB 8	Committee Denied	Would allow municipalities to adopt a 0.5% sales tax.	Looney
SB 10/HB 5743	Passed Senate	Would strengthen hate crime laws.	Winfield
SB 13/HB 6208/HB 6456	Committee Approved	Would increase the minimum wage.	Looney Winfield et al. Albis Candelaria D’Agostino Elliott Lemar Paolillo Porter Walker
SB 137	Committee Denied	Would expand birth-to-three and provide universal pre-school, among other things.	Gerratana
SJ 5/HJ 1	Passed House	Would amend the state constitution to create a ​“lock-box” for transportation funding.	Duff
HB 5588	Committee Denied	Would limit certain bond allocations.	Dillon Lemar Albis Walker Elliott et al.
HB 5912HB 6127	Committee Denied	Would establish a 1‑cent/ounce tax on sugared beverages.	Lemar Elliott et al.
HB 6554	Committee Denied	Would tax carried interest as ordinary income.	Porter Albis Lemar Elliott Winfield Candelaria Dillon D’Agostino et al.
HB 5831	Committee Denied	Would provide bonding for transitional housing for NH female ex- offenders.	Porter Candelaria Lemar Winfield Looney Paolillo
SB 631	Committee Denied	Would provide bonding to make structural improvements to the Shubert Theatre.	Winfield Looney Walker Porter Lemar Candelaria Paolillo
HB 6863	Committee Denied	Would authorize bonds for renovating the Barbell Club as a youth/ community center.	Canelaria Porter Paolillo Lemar Winfield
SB 649	Committee Approved	Would allow local building officials to impose fines for building w/o a permit.	Looney Winfield Walker Candelaria Lemar Porter Paolillo Et al.
SB 590/591	Committee Denied	Would limit police ccoperation w/Immigration and Customs Enforcement (590); establish an immigrant’s bill of rights	Winfield
SB 20	Committee Denied	Would require affordability to be considered in reviewing proposed health insurance rate hikes.	Looney
HB 6352	Committee Approved	Would establish a deposit system for car tires.	Ritter Gresko McCrory
HB 6901	Committee Denied	Would impose a surtax on large employers that pay an average wage less than $15/hour.	Elliott
HB 7278	Passed Senate	Would convey various parcels to New Haven, among other things.	Gov’t Administration and Elections