Police chief addresses Sussex Republican women’s club
Speaking at the February meeting of the Sussex County Republican Women’s Club, Ocean View Police Chief Kenneth McLaughlin said he urges legislators and the governor to reject efforts to legalize marijuana.
The most recent proposed bill to legalize marijuana, House Bill 305, was released from committee Feb. 17, clearing its path for an up-or-down vote by the full House when the session reconvenes Tuesday, March 8. After the House vote, the bill will proceed to the Senate.
McLaughlin said he has seen firsthand in his 31 years of working in Delaware law enforcement how marijuana has become the prime gateway drug to more dangerous substances. He also pointed out that a lot of the marijuana being sold today, as opposed to that of earlier decades, is synthetic, carcinogenic and possibly laced with fentanyl. Legalizing marijuana, said McLaughlin, sends a message to children that marijuana is a safe drug. “It is not,” he said.
Marilyn Booker, president of the Sussex County Women’s Republican Club, said she found McLaughlin’s message powerful.
“Chief McLaughlin’s presentation today gave our members a firsthand view of the real horrors associated with the drug crisis in Sussex County,” she said. “His description of the increased potency of today’s marijuana versus what people used to consume in the last century made all of us wonder why our General Assembly is considering legalizing it for recreational use. We certainly hope Gov. Carney vetoes this bill if it arrives on his desk.”
McLaughlin completed recruit training at the Delaware State Police Academy in 1990 and was appointed chief of police for the Town of Ocean View in May 2001. He holds numerous law enforcement instructor certifications and regularly teaches at the local, state and national levels. He has been instrumental in establishing statewide guidelines and training in the areas of police response to medical and mental health emergencies.
To learn more about the Sussex County Republican Women’s Club, go to scrwc.net.
