“The reason they’re suggesting, both the governor and Sen. Booker, has nothing to do with whether they’re harmless or not harmless – it’s all about the criminal justice system,” MacArthur said. “Well, then change the criminal justice penalties. If the state feels that the penalties for marijuana use are too high and it shouldn’t be a felony, then deal with that, but don’t just make it easier for young people to get marijuana.”
While Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin have repeatedly cited racial inequality in marijuana prosecutions as the primary reason for their proposed changes, they’re also relying on revenues from excise taxes levied on the sale of the drug to ease the state’s strained finances.
But, that justification doesn’t even come close to passing muster for MacArthur.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but to justify increasing drug use that might take children’s lives because of tax revenues, that to me is the most cynical – at least I can understand the criminal justice argument, even though I think there’s a better way to get at that,” MacArthur said. “To take this kind of risk with our children’s lives for tax revenues, I think is just insane.”