Addressing Recreational Marijuana is only the Beginning in Drug Fight

I attended the June 20th South Amboy City Council meeting where I heard resident Kim Seber speak so passionately about the ramifications of the potential legalization of recreational marijuana in the city. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with her on several occasions and feel that she is one of the region’s most vocal drug-abuse treatment advocates and has worked tirelessly to help find solutions to the problem and save lives. I am in full agreement with Ms. Seber in believing that South Amboy has no place for legal recreational marijuana dispensaries, shops or stores because the risks outweigh any potential positives. 

Back on April 19th, Ms. Seber and I attended a marijuana legalization discussion forum in Perth Amboy. Later that evening I posted on my Facebook page that I believed the legalization of recreational marijuana could lead to a significant increase in the use of other recreational drugs, including opiates, and that much more needed to be examined before making such a quick decision on something that could have such crucial consequences such as addiction, an increase in crime and most importantly, the potentials of overdose and death. 

I am a retired Middlesex County sheriff’s officer who has seen first-hand what drug addiction and related crimes can lead to. I am a proponent of stricter drug laws regarding the dispensing of substances for mere recreational purposes. I am in favor of the use of medicinal marijuana, provided the drug is dispensed in a medically controlled and regulated environment or facility. However, recreational marijuana is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Two years ago, I campaigned to become Middlesex County sheriff where I gained an even better understanding of what drug abuse can do to not only its victims but to their family members, as well as the communities they live in. During my campaign, I released “The Pisar Plan,” my own five-point strategy to combat the deadly drug abuse problem in Middlesex County, which has some of the highest drug deaths in the state. Law enforcement officers, recovery specialists, medical professionals, and educators are fighting abuse and addiction each and every day and we need to support them. Not make it more difficult. 

While I am pleased our local elected officials now want to take up the issue of stopping recreational marijuana facilities in South Amboy before they become legal, the council and mayor need to focus on addressing and stopping opioid/heroin abuse, overdoses and deaths within the city, which should have been a top priority in the first place.

I am a candidate for South Amboy mayor and if elected, I will be sure to work hard to end the drug crisis by applying relevant components of “The Pisar Plan” to my overall drug abuse mitigation plan to help stem the tide of drug addiction, overdose, and death. Doing whatever we can to keep recreational marijuana facilities from opening right in here in the city is paramount. However, we must not ignore the prescription opioid and heroin problems that we are presently faced with in South Amboy and finish what hasn’t even really started.

Peter Pisar