Gov. Chris Christie says he will “never” permit legalized marijuana use while he’s the governor of New Jersey.
Responding to a question about pot legalization on a call-in radio show, Christie cited a recent study that showed even casual marijuana use could be detrimental to the human brain.
“I don’t care about the tax money that may come from it, and I don’t care, quite frankly, that people think it’s inevitable,” he said. “It’s not inevitable here, I’m not going to permit it, never as long as I’m governor.”
A Quinnipiac poll earlier this month showed that New Jersey voters were evenly split on the question of whether to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Democrats in the state supported legalization 55 percent to 41 percent, while Republicans oppose it 61 percent to 34 percent.
“I am not going to be the governor who’s going to tell our children and our young adults that marijuana use is okay,” Christie said Tuesday. “Because it’s not.”