A.G. Says Cigarettes, Alcohol More Dangerous than Weed
Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte, among others, tried to make a correlation between use of legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco in public, and the use of marijuana which is mostly private. He contended that the Bill does not encourage anyone to begin smoking marijuana. But Peyrefitte says the law is there to encourage those who smoke the weed to do so responsibly. He also spoke about the provision for schools, where the law now only affects those caught with above ten grams of marijuana.
Michael Peyrefitte
Michael Peyrefitte, U.D.P. Senator
“That’s a half-pack of cigarettes. It says here, the Director of Health Services advises that smoking is dangerous to health. In some parts of the United States, they have removed all euphemisms – it says ‘smoking kills.’ In some parts of Europe where I’ve seen cigarettes sold, they show you the inside of a person’s throat as a picture on the back of the cigarette box. There is no outcry from the business community, nor the Business Senator, against cigarettes. Children in schools smoke cigarettes too; where is the outcry? They drink alcohol, where is the outcry? So then what is the problem – what is the real problem with marijuana, why is there a fight against marijuana? And we are not saying or engaging in any free-for-all here. This, Senator Lizarraga, from what I have been told – ten grams of marijuana is equivalent to ten cigarettes, half a pack right here. If you are caught with more than that on the school premises, as an adult, you will be applied the old law – you will be charged for trafficking. You have to understand it’s not a free-for-all – it’s ten grams or less. We’re encouraging mature people who smoke marijuana and whom we believe it has less of an effect on them than cigarettes or alcohol to enjoy their marijuana responsibly. There is no study to indicate that people are less productive at work when they smoke marijuana or before. From the people I know who smoke marijuana, they don’t want to smoke before they go to work; they want to smoke when they leave work.”
The Senate meeting concluded late this evening.
