Marijuana should not be legalized, whether for medical purposes or for recreational use, because it is unquestionable the Gateway Drug that leads many users to become addicted to other drugs
Actor Lillo Brancato, 37, played the son of Robert DeNiro in the 1993 movie A Bronx Tale and had a starring role in the HBO series The Sopranos during its second season. But on December 10, 2005, Brancato and a friend killed a NY cop as they attempted to commit a burglary for drugs.
Brancato and Steven Armento, now 51, were drinking at a strip club when they decided to break into the Bronx apartment of a friend to steal some Valium. Next door neighbor Daniel Enchautegui, an NYPD officer, heard a commotion and went outside to investigate. When he confronted the two burglars, Armento fatally shot the 28-year-old off-duty cop with a .357 Magnum.
Armento was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. But to the outrage of NY cops and Enchautegui’s family, Brancato, who had been charged with second-degree murder, was only convicted of burglary. In 2009 he was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of probation. And now to rub salt in the wound, Brancato was released from prison on New Year’s Eve after serving only four years of his sentence.
During his trial, Brancato told the jury that on the night of the shooting, his judgment was impaired by heroin withdrawals. He said his drug problems began when he was ‘introduced to marijuana’ on the move set of A Bronx Tale. That led him to become hooked on crack and heroin.
While I too am outraged at the slap-on-the-wrist Brancato received in the murder of Officer Enchautegui, I believe it is just as important to point out that Marijuana is not the innocuous substance its advocates claim it is. It is truly the Gateway Drug that leads many of its users on the path to the addiction of heroin, coke, meth and other dangerous drugs. And that is one reason why marijuana should not be legalized!
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