The chief obstacle in Trenton to marijuana legalization has been the Legislative Black Caucus, led by Sen. Ron Rice.
Holley’s amendments appear to be designed to win over members of the Black Caucus, but they are not winning over Rice.
“New Jersey is not Colorado. The demographics here are very, very different,” Rice said.
Wednesday, Rice gave us a litany of reasons why marijuana legalization makes no sense. He said the neighborhood outside his office is ripe for exploitation by those peddling pot, which he sees as a major gateway drug.
“I’m five blocks away from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey which is a predominant rich, upper-middle class, white community, college community. What we know is that when you legalize marijuana recreationally, the number of people who’ve never used any type of drugs goes up substantially in terms of drug use,” Rice said.