New Miss USA hails from New Jersey

    Her sash may have said “California,” but somewhere inside Alyssa Campanella lives a Jersey girl.

    The 21-year-old won last night’s Miss USA contest for California, where she now lives. But Campanella hails from Manalapan, N.J.

    According to the Associated Press, Campanella was tasked with discussing legalizing marijuana. Here’s what she had to say during the interview portion of the pageant:

    “Well, I understand why that question would be asked, especially with today’s economy, but I also understand that medical marijuana is very important to help those who need it medically. I’m not sure if it should be legalized, if it would really affect, with the drug war,” she said. “I mean, it’s abused today, unfortunately, so that’s the only reason why I would kind of be a little bit against it, but medically it’s OK.”

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