NEWTON -- After much discussion involving marijuana, the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved a resolution expressing opposition to the drug's legalization for recreational use in the state.

NEWTON -- After much discussion involving marijuana, including its increased strength compared to past generations and physical and mental health issues relating to it, the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved a resolution expressing opposition to the drug's legalization for recreational use in the state.

The resolution passed Wednesday by a 3 to 2 vote, with Freeholder Deputy Director Sylvia Petillo and members Carl Lazzaro and Herb Yardley supporting the measure and Freeholder Director Jonathan Rose and member George Graham opposing it.

During a lengthy debate among the five-member board, issues such as marijuana's effects on the minds of users, especially young people, were mentioned repeatedly by those opposing legalization.

"I see no need to validate another substance that alters one's mind," Lazzaro said. "The philosophy that you can't have fun without getting stoned is relatively sick. There's no need for that."

Rose noted that he supports legalizing marijuana, arguing that the "war on drugs" has been extremely unsuccessful and often causes lives to be unfairly ruined by the laws against illegal substances.

"I see people's lives destroyed by the criminal justice system just as much as I see people's lives destroyed by the horrors of drug use and drug addiction, and I think we need to break that and to start treating drug addiction -- not necessarily drug use, but drug addiction -- as the mental health issue that it is," Rose said. "To that end, I think that, at a minimum, decriminalization, and a maximum, legalization, is where we need to head as a society for marijuana."

During the public session of the meeting, Sussex County Municipal Alliance Coordinator Nick Loizzi cited several negative statistics from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program regarding Colorado, which legalized marijuana in 2014. Among them, marijuana-related traffic deaths in the state have increased 151 percent since legalization, and the number of traffic deaths involving drivers who tested positive for the drug jumped from 55 in 2013 to 138 in 2017.

Yardley and Petillo used these statistics as arguments for their position against legalizing marijuana, also highlighting health problems that the drug can cause.

They additionally pointed to the danger of edibles, which can contain higher rates of THC, the chemical compound in marijuana responsible for producing a high.

"The black market of marijuana will not go away; it has not gone away in Denver, it's not going to go away here. It might even get worse," Yardley said. "I think we should be diligent and make sure that this does not become law."

Graham said he is "fundamentally against" legalizing marijuana but argued that it should not be criminalized either, sharing Rose's viewpoint about the failure of the war on drugs.

"This is happening all around the country," Graham said of recreational marijuana use. "If we say just �no,' we don't have an alternate plan, and I think we need an alternate plan because this is happening."

Several individuals from the Center for Prevention and Counseling voiced their opposition to marijuana legalization during the public session, arguing, in part, that children's access to the drug would be counterproductive to their upbringing.

"As a prevention specialist and a mom of two kids, the idea of making marijuana more accessible to purchase or to get in Sussex County really contradicts all of the efforts that a prevention specialist and, really, a parent has put into raising their children to be healthy, young, productive people," said Tina Aue, director of prevention services at the center. "To me, the thought of legalizing marijuana doesn't seem to be in the best interest of our young people, who are really going to be our decision-makers not too far down the line."

Wednesday's approved resolution opposes the viewpoint of Gov. Phil Murphy, who has previously expressed his desire for state lawmakers to pass legislation legalizing and taxing the drug by the end of the year.

The Murphy administration has already expanded the state's medical marijuana program, adding five new conditions eligible for coverage by the treatment in March. In July, the governor announced that he was seeking to double the number of dispensaries in the state from six to 12.

Just prior to adjournment of the meeting Wednesday, Graham made sure to express his appreciation to his fellow board members for having a passionate, yet respectful discussion about marijuana regardless of others' beliefs.

"Sometimes we've had very calm conversations, we've had some heated conversations," Graham said, "but I was very thrilled tonight that we were able to exchange ideas back and forth -- see the inside and outside of other people's opinions -- and it was done in a very civil manner, and I'm very proud of everybody up here."

Kyle Morel can also be contacted on Twitter: @KMorelNJH, on Facebook: Facebook.com/KMorelNJH, or by phone: 973-383-1292.