Marijuana Legalization Target Of Clinton Township Coalition

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI — A campaign to legalize the recreational use of marijuana is ongoing in Michigan. Supporters are busy collecting signatures to get a proposal on the fall ballot. But not everyone is on-board with the idea, such as the Chippewa Valley Schools Coalition for Youth and Families.

The Clinton Township group is doing what it can to educate the public about what it feels are the harmful effects of marijuana. Their opposition is well-funded — with a goal is to raise as much as $10 million — but it’s not stopping the coalition from fighting recreational marijuana legalization.

“When you have that kind of money, it’s not surprising you can get signatures,” said Charlene McGunn, the coalition’s executive director. “What we find on a community level is that when people really understand the effects of marijuana, they very much change their minds — especially parents. They are the group that is most attentive to the effects of marijuana on kids, and rightly so, because marijuana is a drug that has many detrimental effects to youth, all very well research-based.”

McGunn referenced states like Colorado and Washington, which both led the charge on legalized recreational marijuana. She said both states lead the nation in youth and adult marijuana use, which she said has profound consequences on child education, business, unemployment, crime, fatalities and more.

For more, go to C & G newspapers.

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