Congressman Joe Kennedy is not convinced that the legalization of marijuana will not result in a spike in its use among young people.
Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III may seem like the golden boy of the Democrats for his strong pro-immigration views and his stance against Donald Trump but there’s one aspect of the Democratic agenda where Kennedy does not toe the line.
Speaking on the Jimmy Kimmel Show on Wednesday, the 37-year-old grandson of Senator Robert F. Kennedy revealed that his views of the legalization of pot are in opposition to the general Democratic Party thinking.
“I realize my views on this are not exactly in line with [other Democrats]. I think the part of the impact of when you talk about the law is to make sure that you get the border cases right,” Kennedy said, adding that he felt that marijuana should not be legalized because it could not be sure that there wouldn’t be an uptake in use among young people.
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“I do have concerns about what an increase in availability of legal marijuana means for adolescents and what it means for folks who struggle with addiction and mental health,” he said.
This comes despite Kennedy having represented Massachusetts since 2013, a state which has had legal medical marijuana since 2012 and in which voters decided to allow legalized recreational pot in 2016. The state is currently in the process of licensing retail cannabis businesses.
“I acknowledge the fact that I’m an outlier on this, but I just think it’s something we want to be careful and deliberate about as we go forward,” he added, commenting that the inconsistencies between state and federal law on marijuana are not helping the case.
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“The structures of the federal law are completely incomprehensible. And what Jeff Sessions and this administration are doing are making it worse,” he said in criticism of the current administration.
“I don’t drink, but obviously it’s OK that everybody else does,” said Kennedy when asked about his views on alcohol in comparison.
“I think, Jimmy, it’s something that if we’re going to move towards legalization, we have to be thoughtful about what that means.”
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H/T: High Times
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