Greene County residents evenly split on issue of recreational marijuana
Stephen Butler of New Freeport spoke in support of legalizing recreational marijuana during Tuesday's Marijuana Listening Tour at Waynesburg University in Greene County.
Challen Matthews of Waynesburg holds up money, which what he said legalizing recreational marijuana boils down to. He said he does not support the measure.
Nancy Schwaiger of Canonsburg, Washington County called marijuana "a god-given plant."
Waynesburg University’s Alumni Hall was nearly full Tuesday night, as state Lt. Gov. John Fetterman hosted a public forum to hear feedback about the legalization of recreational marijuana use.
The 34 people who took to the microphone included pastors, current and former members of law enforcement, veterans, former drug addicts, an assistant district attorney, a mental health counselor, a medical helicopter pilot and a dispensary worker from Colorado. The crowd was fairly evenly split on the issue, Fetterman noted, in contrast to the support for legalizations he’d seen in other counties.
The conversation covered concerns about taxes, safety and education of children, road dangers, whether marijuana is a gateway drug and its potential impacts on work performance, physical health and mental health.
The opinions expressed ran the gamut, with the back and forth continuing throughout the hour and a half long forum.
Challen Matthews of Waynesburg said he is opposed to legalization because throughout his 32 years in the military he “saw guys destroy their lives over this.” Matthews said this issue is all about taxes, holding up a wad of money from his pocket.
Nancy Schwaiger of Canonsburg said she started smoking pot in 1972, following a mental breakdown. She said she supports legalization because she has had nothing but good times with it and never had to miss work. She called marijuana a “God-given plant.”
Stephan Butler of New Freeport donned a marijuana leaf shirt and spoke about all the people he’s seen marijuana help.
“I don’t believe we should participate in things that don’t keep us in this right state of mind,” Jeff Hathaway, a pastor, said. “It is mind-altering and we don’t need any more of that.”
One former drug addict who spoke said smoking marijuana saved his life, supplanting his use of harder drugs.
“I’ve been clean four years thanks to marijuana,” he said.
Another former addict, however, disagreed, calling pot a gateway drug that transitions its users into harder ones.
Greene County Commissioner Archie Trader came to the forum undecided about how he felt, hoping that hearing different viewpoints would help him decide where he stands.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I hope to after tonight,” Trader said.
Waynesburg Mayor Brian Tanner thanked those who came for a “discussion without argument over this hot-button issue.”
At the end of the event, Fetterman asked for a show of hands for those who remained undecided about whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Only a handful of people raised their hands.
On Monday Fetterman visited Washington County and heard strong support for legalization. He has yet to schedule stops in Fayette and Westmoreland counties, but said he plans to visit all 67 counties.
“We’re going everywhere,” Fetterman said. “No one will be left out.”
Fetterman said the next step following the listening tour will be the collection of comments.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s team will break down comments from the tour, paper comment cards from each stop and opinions from the online form to get the most accurate assessment of public opinion.
To offer online feedback, visit https://www.governor.pa.gov/recreational-marijuana-feedback/#Form.