The legalization of marijuana is a topic that has been sweeping the nation. Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota just this year approved ballot measures that would make the use of recreational cannabis legal. Others like Maine and Colorado passed laws to legalize recreational and medical use previously.
However, some states are still resisting that change.
Nebraska—a Republican-run or "red" state—is debating the merits of legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, a position which governor Pete Ricketts made it clear he's against by outright lying about cannabis' capabilities.
"If you legalize marijuana, you're going to kill your kids. That's what the data shows from around the country," Ricketts erroneously claimed.
Marijuana has been shown to actually be considerably less lethal than most recreational drugs, including alcohol and caffeine.
The erroneous statement has lead to ridicule from Nebraska state senators and others on social media.
Erik Altieri, a spokesperson for The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, ripped Ricketts' claims.
"His claims are not backed up by science or the real-world experience of the over a dozen states which have already legalized marijuana for adult use, they seem to exist only in his troubled imagination."
The bill up for debate in Nebraska would not recognize the use of recreational marijuana as legal, but would permit oils, pills and tinctures to be prescribed for medical uses.
This means the chance children would have access to the substance would be very low, if at all.
Ricketts' incorrect moral outrage against marijuana may have an ulterior motive, as he believes marijuana is a "big industry that is trying to not to be regulated, to go around the regulatory process."
The bill moved ahead to a judiciary committee and may be advanced to the Governor's desk by the end of the year.
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