Winthrop hosts 'marijuana summit' in Rock Hill on Monday

What happens if you legalize pot?

That’s the question being discussed at a public event Monday at Winthrop University.

“The Blunt Truth,” billed as a “marijuana summit,” will be held in the Richardson Ballroom at the DiGiorgio Campus Center from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The event is organized by Keystone Substance Abuse Services and the nonprofit York County All on Board.

Ben Cort, business development manager for the Center for Addiction Recovery and Rehabilitation in the University of Colorado health system, is the featured speaker. After the talk, Cort will lead a Q&A with the audience.

Cort is expected to talk about the effects marijuana legalization in Colorado has had on recovery services in the state. Colorado legalized recreational use of the drug by voter referendum in 2012, even as marijuana remains prohibited by federal law. Four states and the District of Columbia now allow for the legal, regulated use of marijuana by residents.

The S.C. Legislature is currently considering a bill to legalize the use of medical marijuana in the state, a bill sponsored by Rep. John King, D-Rock Hill, and supported by local marijuana activists.

“We hope to have a full house,” All on Board Executive Director Bob Norwood said when the summit was announced last month. “We want everybody to be at the table, because it will affect everybody if this is legalized.”

There is no cost to attend the summit, and Winthrop students will receive “cultural event” credit for attending. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Winthrop hosts 'marijuana summit' in Rock Hill on Monday."