Michigan 2018 Republican Governor Candidates Debate Marijuana Legalization 5-9-18

[Michael Komorn]

All of the Republican candidates for the Governor primary in Michigan are against the legalization of marijuana.

Only Lt Gov Brian Calley, who opposed the petition to add Autism to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana said he supports medical marijuana.

Current Attorney General Bill Schuette tried conflate marijuana with opioids and giving children drugs.

 

 

 

Gubernatorial Primary Debate in Grand Rapids on May 9, 2018

DR. JIM HINES:
I, I don't support the legalization of recreational marijuana. I think that would be bad. There's a ton of research that needs to yet be done. The interactions with medicine. What kind of cancer does it cause? Ahh, the impact on memory, your ability to work, and so I think that there's a ton of work that needs to be done. But if it's passed, I think that we have to deal with it and we have to, we have to know that the bus driver that is driving your kids is, is, is not under the influence of marijuana. We need to figure out how to keep it out of the hands of minors, and so there are a lot of things that need to be discussed and worked through, ah, as a government to, to make sure that ah, it can be as safe as possible, but I do not support the legalization of recreational marijuana.

SENATOR PATRICK COLBECK
Well, first let me be clear, I will respect the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box, so if they make it legal, I will respect that will. But I'm telling you I'm personally opposed to it and here's why. Right now I have 31,000 job openings in my District. Um, businesses are still putting drug tests out there for employees. If you're smoking recreational marijuana, you're not going to pass that drug test. And I don't want our government assistance roles to increase. I actually want to get people gainfully employed so they can, um, get a good job and take care of their families. If we go down this route, um, I think we're going to see an increase in our government assistance costs and that's not a road I want to take Michigan down. We finally got our fiscal house in order and this has an opportunity to actually, um, bankrupt our state. It's not a course I'd like to pursue, but we'll make it work no matter what happens.

LT. GOVERNOR BRIAN CALLEY
I do not support recreational marijuana, but I want to be clear that I will respect a vote of the people. I do support medical marijuana on the other hand. In fact, it's becoming more and more clear that it may have a role to play in defeating the opioid addiction epidemic. But this is an opportunity I think for, for a clear contrast. Bill Schuette led the charge against medical marijuana, even after the will of the voters was decided, and the support was enormous, he still continued to fight against the will of the voters, keeping patients from the medicine that they need. So I think it's important that we all speak up on what we think about this initiative, but when the voters have their say, their will must stand.

ATTORNEY GENERAL BILL SCHUETTE
I'm opposed to the legalization of marijuana, but ah, I think the citizens across the state will have the opportunity to vote and democracy will prevail. I'm concerned about putting more drugs in the hands of kids and the opioid epidemic that is raging across Michigan and America is real. You know we've — recently we had more prescriptions for opioids than there are people in the State of Michigan. I was at an event in Oakland County last week, I met a woman who shared with me that, that her son had died through ah, ah, opioid overdose and it breaks your heart. And we need to crack down on the pill-mill docs, we need to, you know, crackdown on the heroin dealers that peddle this ah, heroin to those who are in the grip of addiction, and I have an Interdiction Unit at the Department of Attorney General to do just that. President Trump asked me to come to the White House to discuss the issue of ah, opioids and how the federal government and the states can work together. I think that's another reason why President Trump endorsed me as Governor of the State of Michigan.