Full interview with David Tamisiea, Executive Director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference
(BISMARCK, ND) – The two bishops of the North Dakota catholic church diocese have penned a letter urging North Dakotans to vote ‘no’ on Measure 5, which would legalize recreational marijuana in the state.
“Marijuana is not the harmless drug that some imagine it to be,” Bishops The Most Reverend David Kagan, of the Diocese of Bismarck, and The Most Reverend John Folda, of the Diocese of Fargo, penned in a letter earlier this month. “Rather, there is ample evidence that regular marijuana use impairs brain functioning, stunts brain development, damages the lungs, and is linked to a lower immune system.”
David Tamisiea, who is the Executive Director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference, tells WDAY Radio why the bishops are speaking out.
“The bottom line of the reasons why, the reason why our two bishops are opposed to legalizing recreational marijuana in our state, is because marijuana is not safe. And it’s not harmless,” he said. “And because our bishops are good pastors — they care for their people, and it’s not just for Catholics, but for non-Catholics as well. They don’t want to see this harmful drug introduced into our state to inflict harm on individuals, families and our communities.”
Tamisiea also points to crises happening in the region.
“We know that we’re having an addiction crisis and we’re having a mental health crisis,” he said. “So why in the world would we ever want to introduce some other agent that’s highly addictive and exacerbates mental health problems when we’re already struggling to deal with those things right now?”
