Candidates for governor split over legalizing cannabis
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
Steve Williams, the Democratic candidate for Governor of West Virginia, communicated his support for legalizing recreational marijuana in the state yesterday.
“Adults in our state deserve the right to make their own choices about cannabis, just as they do with alcohol and tobacco,” Williams said in a statement. “One avenue to move forward is to put legalization on the ballot and let voters decide.”
In order to put the issue before voters, as Williams advocates, the West Virginia Legislature would need to pass a resolution by a ⅔ margin. Such resolutions have been introduced over the last few years, but legislative leadership declined to put any up for a vote.
While the legislature may not be supportive of the Williams proposal, Libertiarian candidate for governor Erika Kolenich is.
In response to a request for comment from RealWV, she said, “I am in favor of decriminalizing marijuana for recreational purposes. Many states around West Virginia have done so. We lose out on significant revenue when our citizens who don’t want to violate the law travel out of state to take advantage of those recreational laws.”
“Using marijuana for recreation may not be the choice that I would make or that you would make,” she continued, “but if another citizen choses to do so and they are not hurting anyone in the process and West Virginia gets an economic benefit, it seems like a win for our state.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate (and current Attorney General) Patrick Morrisey voiced his disagreement with Williams and Kolenich, saying deaths from opioids and fentanyl continue to cause numerous overdose deaths in the state.
“I’m laser focused on doing everything we can to make sure we fight the opioid epidemic in West Virginia,” he said in a campaign release. “That means addressing the Chinese fentanyl coming in through the southern border and getting the victims the care they need. I’m not for adding more drugs into our state.”
Williams accused Morrisey of having other motives for his position on the issue. “(He) wants to protect a lucrative revenue stream that has made billions for Big Pharma while wreaking havoc and bringing misery and death to West Virginia.”
According to a CBS News report on 60 Minutes in 2018, Morrisey did work for a law firm from 2010-2012 that represented several opioid manufacturers. As Attorney General, Morrisey then sued some of those same companies on behalf of the state. Almost $1 billion in settlements from those cases has come to West Virginia over the last few years.
Williams, in his capacity as Mayor of Huntington, a city ravaged by substance use and overdose deaths, also sued opioid manufacturers and distributors. That case remains active.
Governor Jim Justice says he does plan to call the legislature into special session later this month to discuss a 5% state income tax reduction, child care tax credits, and supplemental appropriations.
