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Wife of fallen Mass. State Trooper appears in new ad against legalizing marijuana

BOSTON — With two weeks until Election Day, the battle surrounding Question 4 continues. While the latest poll shows most Massachusetts voters in favor of legalizing marijuana, there's a new push against it.

The new push to reject Question 4 is coming from the wife of a fallen state trooper. Back in March, Trooper Thomas Clardy was killed when a medical marijuana patient swerved across the Mass. Pike and slammed into his cruiser. Prosecutors say driver David Njuguna was in an impaired state and had recently purchased at least three marijuana cigarettes before the crash.

Reisa Clardy, the widow of Trooper Clardy, appears in a new online ad urging voters to reject Question 4.

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"With this bill, I don't think we will gain anything from it. I think there is going to be more accidents, there's going to be more fatalities. You're going to have more families that are going to be without their loved ones because we're putting more people at risk," Clardy says.

"If it can happen to my family, it can happen to anybody's," Clardy adds. "Why would we take this risk, right now?"

Despite the pushback, the ballot question does have its supporters. Their argument has been that making marijuana legal and taxing and regulating it is better than leaving it underground. A WBUR poll released earlier this month showed 55-percent of Massachusetts voters support legalization and 40-percent oppose it.

Questions remain as to how much marijuana would be taxed. Some lawmakers say they're open to hiking the tax higher than what's on the ballot. Lawmakers are also promising quick action to protect public safety if Question 4 passes; data from Washington shows an increase in marijuana-impaired traffic deaths a year after legalization. 

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