Kentucky Republican offers to 'fill this committee room' with people affected by pot deaths

In a hearing on the legalization of medical marijuana in the state of Kentucky, Republican state Rep. Robert Benvenuti said that the risks of allowing medical marijuana in the state are too high. He cited Kentucky's high rate of illegal and prescription drug abuse as reasons why the plant is too dangerous to be sold legally.

Legalization of medical marijuana will inevitably lead to the legalization of recreational marijuana use, said Benvenuti.

"I do not believe in the recreational use of marijuana," he said, "and I could likewise fill this committee room with first responders, law enforcement officers and parents of dead children based on the effects of marijuana."

As a protest rose from the assembled crowd that marijuana is not a lethal substance, Benvenuti continued, "In driving intoxicated, in child abuse, we've already heard today from folks who talk about intoxicants and its role in child fatality and child abuse."

"So we need no more recreational drugs in Kentucky," he said.

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