First it was Colorado and Washington, afterwards came Alaska, Oregon and Washington, DC. Last to join the bandwagon for marijuana legalization was Pennsylvania. Now it is New England that is considering legalizing marijuana to suppress the opiate crisis in the country.
However, this vast liberal region is battling with the destructive effect of opiate abuse, which disrupts families, taxing law enforcement agencies and taking lives. Many lawmakers and public officials are holding back the idea of making a banned substance legal, seeing possible social costs, MSN reports.
"The shadow of the heroin epidemic is something that people think about when they think about the legalization, and they ask themselves, 'Are we sending the right message about legalization?'" said Shap Smith, the speaker of the House in Vermont, who is open to legalizing marijuana. "I think in the public's mind, it's making passage of this bill more difficult."
