There is an old saying about life’s possibilities that goes something like this: “Brother, as long as you are green, you can grow.”
That might be another way to describe New Jersey’s ongoing efforts to join a growing number of states seeking to legalize recreational, or so-called “adult use,” marijuana, a concept we support, generally speaking, as long as certain criteria — including expungement of some past convictions, clear guidelines for local police and thoughtful statewide regulation — are met.
While campaigning for governor last fall, Phil Murphy vowed to make marijuana legal in his first 100 days in office. But like a slew of other Murphy initiatives, full pot legalization hasn’t gone quite as planned. There has been push-back from various quarters, including prominent Sen. Ronald L. Rice, a Democrat and a leading voice in the legislative Black Caucus. Later, legalization efforts got chewed up during in the machinery of tense negotiations over the budget, which had to be completed by July 1.
Somehow, though, the pot legalization has not lost much energy at the state level, though it has been muted, perhaps, both by independent towns taking stances against legalization and by factions warring within the Legislature. Last month, legalization efforts got a boost when Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, who had been on the fence, came out in support.