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To the editor:
I have been following with growing concern the determined efforts of our newly elected Gov. Murphy to legalize recreational use of marijuana in New Jersey, even making it a “priority.”
It appears that the very one who should be overseeing the safety of taxpayers in New Jersey is quite prepared to expose all of us to becoming road kill by making recreational use of marijuana a specific goal of his governorship.
It is getting to the point where one must wonder if the human race has lost all ability to reason and come to rational conclusions.
It is an established fact that no one uses marijuana recreationally without becoming necessarily (and, often, intentionally) impaired. As stated by the National Institute of Drug Abuse: “Marijuana significantly impairs judgment, motor coordination, and reaction time, and studies have found a direct relationship between blood THC concentration and impaired driving ability.”
How is someone who is mentally and physically impaired after using marijuana capable of exercising the discretion and sound judgment that is necessary to decide against getting behind the wheel of the car? And even if only 5 out of 10 recreational users become impaired (highly unrealistic), it still has significantly raised the odds of dangerous and even fatal road accidents from driving under the influence.
I read in the recent Pascack Press article that police chiefs everywhere are cautioning that legalizing marijuana would be dangerous and disastrous, and that they have no way to detect marijuana-related impairments for drivers under the influence, as there is with alcohol, nor even the means to adequately manage this risk.
I also read, without the least bit of surprise, that “the motor vehicle accident rate has skyrocketed” in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal. Who would have guessed it?
However, Gov. Murphy shows himself intent on turning aside the advice of our law enforcement personnel, established facts and reality itself by heedlessly casting upon the men and women tasked with protecting us the considerable burden of damage control for his reckless objectives, while readily risking loss of human life and limb that will ensue if marijuana is legalized; not to mention the ongoing concerns and fears of citizens and taxpayers who will be on the road while other drivers are high on marijuana.
Why? Aren’t the present risks, deaths and ruined lives from drunk driving enough that we must add yet another opportunity for more of the same?
Where are we headed as a society? We pander to every kind of vice and watch our safety and ethical standards unravel, in the name of what? Certainly not integrity, morality and sound reason. There was a time when these qualities not only guided society, but were its very foundation. Not anymore.
Joseph Ferrara
Township of Washington