Widow Of Trooper Clardy Urges Voters To Reject Marijuana Legalization
BOSTON (CBS) -- The widow of a Massachusetts State Trooper who was killed in March by an alleged marijuana-impaired driver is speaking out against drugged driving and urging Massachusetts residents to vote against a ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana.
"Obviously I was very upset, trying to understand how an adult, a grown man could get behind the wheel after smoking marijuana and think it's okay," Reisa Clardy says in a video released Monday by the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts.
Her husband, Trooper Thomas Clardy, was killed March 16 in Charlton when his cruiser was slammed into by a driver who prosecutors claim was under the influence of marijuana.
Watch the video:
Back in May, 30-year-old David Njuguna of Webster was charged with manslaughter in Trooper Clardy's death.
Prosecutors said a burnt marijuana cigarette was found in Njuguna's car, and that he had a level of THC in his blood--though Njuguna's attorney said his client denied being under the influence of any drugs at the time of the crash.
More: WBZ-UMass Poll: Voters Favor Legal Recreational Marijuana, But Have Reservations
Question 4 on the ballot in Massachusetts this November will let voters determine whether or not Massachusetts allows for legalized, recreational marijuana use for adults over 21.
The initiative would create a commission to oversee the marijuana industry in the state that would work much like how the Commonwealth regulates alcohol. It would also create a pot tax of 12 percent, and let cities and towns prohibit dispensaries by a vote.
"With this bill I don't think we will gain anything from it," Reisa Clardy says in the video. "I think there is going to be more accidents, there's going to be more fatalities. You're going to have more families that are going to be without their loved ones because we're putting more people at risk."
The video also states that marijuana-impaired traffic deaths rose in states that legalized the drug.
"If it can happen to my family, it can happen to anybody's," Clardy says. "Why would we take this risk, right now?"
