The legalization of Marijuana, for better or worse, was the topic of a community forum Tues. at East Peoria Central Junior High.
About a dozen people attended. Chris Halsor was presenter. He was a Colorado prosecutor for 14 years before he founded the Understanding Legal Marijuana Corporation.
Halsor says for those opposed to the idea the sky is not falling. He says there are positive impacts, like robust job creation. But he says the biggest downside to legalizing marijuana is the juvenile exposure.
“There’s definitely going to be a driving perception of ‘safer than alcohol,’ because that’s a popular political refrain, but what the science will say is the adolescent use of marijuana is not such a great idea," Halsor said.
Halsor says there are also challenges that come with creating a legal framework, including public policy matters. But he says Pew Research Center numbers show the popular thinking on legalizing the drug shifted to majority support in 2015.
He says as of this year 25 states have some form of legalized marijuana and that could grow by the end of the year.