Should West Virginia legalize recreational marijuana?

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is aware of a green wave -- the push to legalize recreational marijuana. It's fully legal in 15 states.

"I do believe that is coming and the wave is coming across all our states,” Justice said during a town hall Monday.

Though Justice traditionally has been against it, he said this week his mind has changed a bit after listening to medical experts.

"If our House Republicans and Democrats and our Senate Republicans and Democrats would get behind that effort, from a standpoint of legalizing recreational marijuana and they would be supportive of that, I would too," Justice said.

There's both support and concern in the West Virginia Legislature where lawmakers have been debating the issue for years.

"That's throwing gas onto the fire of our opioid pandemic we're experiencing here in West Virginia. Not a good thing to do," Del. Tom Fast, R-Fayette, said.

"The evidence is actually to the contrary,” Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said. “When you have a black market that exists currently, that black market consists of multiple drugs, not just cannabis. When you isolate out cannabis, you actually shrink the black market, which is what we need to do in this state."

Fluharty also said the legalization would attract young people into the state.

Jessica Jordan, manager of CBD store Green Infusion in Elk City, would like to see it legalized for economic reasons.

"I think it's a great idea. We're in desperate need of funding, and it would definitely help with that," Jordan said.

The idea isn't sitting well with law enforcement in the area.

"That old saying of, "Oh we could tax it and put it to good use.' I'm not saying that won't be a viable option. What I am saying is this: How many drug dealers do you know that pay taxes on what they sell now?" St. Albans Police Chief Joe Crawford said.

Crawford is afraid it could be laced with harder drugs, such as how heroin is commonly laced with fentanyl. He also fears the day-to-day safety risks while on the road.

"What's to prevent somebody from going out here and smoking marijuana for two or three hours and then getting in a car and driving. It's no different than drunk driving," Crawford said.

There is a bill in the House to legalize recreational marijuana. It has been pending in the House Health and Human Resources Committee after being introduced on Feb. 10.