House Democratic legislators call for marijuana legalization: neighboring states prosper while Hoosiers lose out
INDIANAPOLIS – Members of the Indiana House Democratic Caucus today joined the overwhelming majority of Hoosiers supporting marijuana legalization as the Indiana Democratic Party called on the Indiana General Assembly to legalize it during the 2022 Legislative Session. State Rep. Sue Errington (D-Muncie) and State Rep. Vanessa Summers (D-Indianapolis) are among the 80-percent of people in our state that support legalizing marijuana in some form recognizing the benefits for a better and more just Indiana.
The legislators see the prosperity legalization has brought to our neighboring states, and want Indiana’s economy and Hoosier families to cash in on the same benefits. Legalization can generate an additional state revenue stream, create good-paying union jobs, bolster agriculture and business, allow for alternative medical treatments, and address racial disparities in our criminal justice systems.
“I applaud the state Democratic party for pushing the conversation on marijuana legalization,” Errington said. “Legalization of medical marijuana would provide safe and regulated avenues for pain management for Hoosiers who live with chronic pain and veterans who struggle with post traumatic stress disorder. By continuing to criminalize marijuana, we are driving suffering Hoosiers into the addictive world of synthetic drugs and feeding our state’s already devastating opioid crisis. It’s time to give Hoosiers a better option that will not only improve their daily lives, but the well-being of Indiana as a whole.”
“Rarely has public support from every corner of the political spectrum been so aligned on a single issue,” Summers said. “Legalizing marijuana is not only the popular thing to do - it is the right thing to do. Continued criminalization hurts us all and goes against our professed ideals of freedom, liberty and justice. Black and brown communities have suffered disproportionately from the War on Drugs causing generations of hurt and harm. If the Indiana General Assembly continues to say 'no' to common-sense, popular policies Indiana will continue to lose. Hoosier families deserve the economic and medical opportunities and restorative justice that marijuana provides.”