Hartford Business Journal

10 Hartford Business Journal • May 6, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com OTHER VOICES Why the Eastern CT Chamber supports tolls By Tony Sheridan A spirited public debate is underway over whether Connecticut should reinstitute highway tolls as a means of funding much-needed improvements to our aging transportation infrastructure. Good people on both sides of the issue are passionate about their position and rightfully so. That is how our democracy works best. There seems to be little disagree- ment that the state must upgrade our transportation system. The ques- tion is, how to pay for it. More bond- ing or tolls? Plans call for toll gantries along Interstates 95, 91 and 84. I-395 would be exempt. Research indicates that electronic toll systems, operational in all our sur- rounding states and, nationally, in all but 15 states, provide a cost-effective and safe method for upgrading and maintaining transportation systems. If tolls are installed in Connecticut they are expected to raise $800 million annu- ally, a healthy chunk, with approximate- ly 40 percent coming from out-of-state vehicles passing through. Tolling is a pay-as-you-go system. Bonding, on the other hand, would pass the buck for improvements on to our children and grandchildren. Earlier this year, the chamber's leg- islative affairs committee developed a comprehensive set of legislative goals for this year's General Assembly session, including support for a state-of-the-art toll system with carve outs for Connect- icut residents. This takes into account the fact that we have a state constitu- tional transportation lockbox to ensure that money raised on the highways will be used to keep them in tip-top shape. Reasonable people agree that we must do something about our roadways. For some time it has been abundantly clear to anyone who has been stuck in traffic for hours on I-95 that improvements are needed to keep the traffic flowing. Ad- ditionally, business owners who depend on the timely delivery of materials also can speak to the importance of a well- functioning transportation system. The argument for using tolls to invest in a modern, well-maintained transpor- tation system can be boiled down to two words: commerce and tourism. Highway congestion and roads in need of repair are impediments to a healthy economy. If visitors, employees or delivery vehicles are sitting for hours in highway traffic, they are not likely to return to the state, or expand or grow their companies. Each year the chamber looks seriously at legislative measures that are designed to improve the business climate and benefit the public. After much consider- ation, we concluded that the need for a highway toll system with 21st-century technology, coupled with the transporta- tion lockbox and carve outs for Con- necticut residents, would well serve our state far into the future. Tony Sheridan is president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut and chairman of the Connecticut Airport Authority. OTHER VOICES Doctors: Recreational pot a bad prescription By Dr. Michael M. Krinsky and Dr. Myron Genel T here is a notion that marijuana is relatively harmless, and it should be legal for recreational use — that it is not really any more dangerous than, say, hula hoops. This idea is rampant, embraced by many, especially certain politicians. Legalizing and taxing it offers an easy way to expunge years of governmental mismanagement, which has led to financial instabil- ity. Connecticut is a prime example of this, but is cer- tainly not alone among the states. For some it is a way to influence votes. But, before we jointly pursue pot legalization, it is worth spend- ing at least a toke[n] amount of time understanding marijuana basics. First of all, we don't know enough about marijuana because it has not been researched in enough scientific studies to conclude convincingly re- garding its safety for recreational use. There is plenty of folklore. But, in order to permissively and affirmatively promote a substance that has a potential darker side broadly into a population, prudence requires more than igno- rance of its risks. We already have enough trouble with opioids and alcohol. The main psy- choactive chemi- cal in marijuana is delta-9-tetra- hydrocannabinol, or THC. It is to be distinguished from cannabidiol (CBD), which has been mildly effective in, and Food and Drug Administration approved for, treating two rare genetic- seizure disorders in children. CBD is the substance that doesn't yield a buzz like its sister, THC, and is being inces- santly hyped by lifestyle experts for almost incalculable uses in creams and oils for every purpose. Marijuana is a schedule 1 drug, de- fined by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration as having "no currently accepted medical use and a high poten- tial for abuse." Clearly CBD is an excep- tion. THC is another matter. The potency of today's plant strains are at least 20 to 30 times stronger as the weed familiar to the Woodstock Generation. By the 1990s, the THC con- tent in marijuana averaged 3.8 percent. In 2014, that rose to 12.2 percent. It is this potency that harbors extreme risks for today's user. A THC level of greater than or equal to 5 nanograms is thought to be the level consistent with intoxication, but there is no reliable way to test for that outside a hospital or lab setting. When multiple drugs are onboard, the intoxication level could conceivably be lower due to inter- actions with other drugs or substances in the body. Until more research is done to qualify and quantify this substance as well as what research has already shown, it should not be considered for legalized recreational use. Let's be forthright. Many want this legalization to legitimize their personal habits and to reduce the risk of legal exposure. Many just see an opportunity to enrich themselves by exploiting the vulnerabilities of others. While our capital markets can survive without a questionable new investment vehicle, there is real risk as to the indi- vidual user's health and that of all our children and grandchildren. Once upon a time we didn't know that we were inviting disease and death by smoking and chewing to- bacco, by polluting land, air, and water with chemicals, and that repeated trauma from contact sports can lead to progressive and irreversible brain damage. Now that we do, we are impelled to make choices that benefit ourselves and our society in order to lead healthier lives. The bottom line is that tax revenues will not reach projected levels, taxa- tion will simply spur the black market, addictive behavior will rise, and human potential will be squandered. The state medical societies of Con- necticut, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, representing more than 40,000 physicians have said "No! No! No! No!" to legalizing recreational marijuana. Patients and politicians should listen to their doctors. Drs. Michael M. Krinsky and Myron Genel are members of the Connecticut State Medical Society. The following is an excerpt from their April 2019 editorial in Connecticut Medicine. It can be read in its entirety at: https:// csms.org/2019/04/24/reefer-madness/. Opinion & Commentary Tony Sheridan Dr. Michael M. Krinsky Dr. Myron Genel

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