Rudder slams Republican chairs over resolution opposing marijuana legalization

The president of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association slammed Republican county chairs for passing a resolution opposing a legalization ballot referendum Thursday.

“This is such an incredibly short-sighted, poorly thought out decision,” Scott Rudder said. “We know the war on cannabis has been a total failure. We know it has disproportionately impacted minority communities and needlessly ruined the lives of many for no good reason. We know that many of the myths about cannabis — some of which the chairs clearly buy into — have been disproven.”

Earlier Thursday, the Republican County Chairmen’s Association announced it had unanimously approved a resolution opposing the referendum to legalize recreational cannabis in the Garden State, warning about underage smoking and links between cannabis use and certain psychiatric disorders.

Rudder, a Republican who served three terms in the Assembly between 2008 and 2014, said his party’s leadership had missed the mark.

“Legalization is as much a Republican issue as it is a Democratic issue. It will reduce government spending while creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in revenue for the state,” he said. “It will close the book on failed policies of the past that disproportionately harmed the same communities Republicans must reach out to if they ever expect to be relevant again in New Jersey. Republican- and Democratic-led states across the country have realized all this and acted on it.”