At a time when states in New England and the nearby mid-Atlantic region are sprinting toward various styles of legalization and regulation, New Jersey’s fledgling medical marijuana industry is caught in a predicament.
“The concern is that you would be holding up patients,” said Kate Bell, legislative counsel for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). Although MPP would like New Jersey to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana, it does not want patients caught in the political crossfire. “Given the fact that the bill might not pass right away, we certainly don’t want to hold patients hostage in getting their needs met for adult-use,” Bell said.
Scutari has also introduced S2703, the New Jersey Marijuana Legalization Act, which is a standalone adult-use bill to legalize the possession and personal use of marijuana for individuals age 21 and over and create a Division of Marijuana Enforcement and licensing structure. Assemblyman Jamel Holley has also put forth a standalone adult-use bill, A3819, which would also authorize possession and personal use of small amounts of marijuana for those 21 and older.
Similarly, State Sens. Herb Conaway, Jr., and Joseph Vitale have introduced two standalone bills to expand the medical marijuana program in the form of A3740 and S10. Both bills attempt to revise the requirements for physicians to authorize qualifying patients and revise requirements for alternative treatment center operations and permitting, and A3740 goes as far as allowing medical marijuana to treat any diagnosed condition.