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Mayor Myra Campbell read a statement aloud at the Wednesday Asbury Park City Council meeting calling for the legalization of pot.

In her statement, Campbell said while she doesn’t participate in the use of illegal drugs, with the prevalence of marijuana use from “people of all walks of life,” the law does more harm than good, especially for minorities found to be in possession of the drug.

‘Minorities are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana use but there is no evidence their use is disproportionately more than other groups,” she said at the meeting. “My message to others would be do not use drugs. My message to legislators is to legalize marijuana.”

The announcement comes days after the New Jersey State Municipal Prosecutors Association came out in favor of legalizing possession of marijuana up to one ounce.

The full statement is as follows:

I stand with the Board of Trustees of the Municipal Prosecutors Association who voted to legalize marijuana. While I do not take any illegal drugs and do not endorse the use of drugs, the current law has been devastating. People from all walks of life who would never think of committing any type of serious crime are arrested for possession of under 50 grams of marijuana. Convictions damage reputations, overwhelm state drug testing laboratories sometimes leading to dismissal of cases and studies show marijuana is less addictive than: alcohol – nicotine – or caffeine. If convicted for the use of marijuana families can be separated, voting rights suspended, loss of income and create roadblocks to get employed. The access for medical marijuana to relieve pain for your loved ones is diminished under the current law. Minorities are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana use but there is no evidence their use is disproportionately more than other groups. My message to others would be do not use drugs. My message to legislators is to legalize marijuana.

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