At a regular Wayne Cunty Board of Supervisors meeting in Lyons on Tuesday, March 19th, the board began with Proclamations (National Public Health Week – April 1-7) and honored several local sports teams for their Section V wins and accomplishments.
Two public hearings were held on Proposed Local amending Installment Payments of Eligible Delinquent Real Property Tax; and a Proposed Local Law amending and imposing a mortgage recording tax within Wayne County. Both Local Laws were subsequentlypassed. Following the regular board meeting, there was a presentation from Wayne County Public Health, and Wayne County Mental Health to begin discussion on health issues that may be associated with the use of Marijuana.
Since the Governor has proposed the legalization of Marijuana for New York , and there would be options for Counties to receive tax benefits from the sale of Recreational Marijuana.
Wayne County Mental Health Director, Jim Haitz, spoke to the group, noting that, at this time, it appears legalizing marijuana has been removed from the Governor’s budget; but that does not mean it should not remain at the forefront. He stated there is an increased use of marijuana and a lack of information on the risk. The potency of marijuana is greater than it was years ago. When marijuana is legalized in a state, the use of the drug increases. There are some positive uses of medical marijuana; however, there is not a lot of information available on the use of this drug. Marijuana is considered a gateway drug. stated Haitz. Thirty-three states now allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes and nine states have legalized recreational use of the drug. Marijuana use in the United States continues to increase; with 15% of the public using the drug.
Although a tax revenue is predicted with the legalization of marijuana; it will come with a high social and lawenforcement cost, he went on to say. The State needs to answer many questions before if can legalize this drug i.e. what defines intoxication, what are the legal limits for use and how should marijuana centers be regulated.
Dr. Charles Morgan, medical director of the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and Wayne County Sheriff Barry Virts spoke briefly on the issue. Sheriff Virts noted a number of organizations and groups that are against the legalization of marijuana. He believes the decriminalization of marijuana is for revenue only.
Wayne County Public Health Director, Diane Devlin, said she believes the Governor will bring this issue up again for a future budget, as it would include a 22% tax, only two percent of that amount was proposed to go to counties. Ms. Devlin also distributed a fact sheet, survey and draft transmittal that will come before the Health and Medical Services Committee next month regarding the County’s opposition.
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