Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders have reached a broad agreement on a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey, according to four sources familiar with the negotiations.
“The consensus on the broad strokes is relatively fresh, so the details are still being worked out,” one source with direct knowledge of the talks told POLITICO.
State Sen. Nicholas Scutari played a key role in the negotiations, the source said. The Union County Democrat could not immediately be reached for comment Friday evening.
The deal was struck during a meeting between Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) on Thursday, two of the sources said.
Under terms of the agreement, New Jersey will impose a $42 per ounce tax on the sale of recreational cannabis, three of the sources said. Taxing marijuana sales by weight, rather than as a percentage of sales, is expected to mitigate any impact a larger cannabis supply might have on the price of pot, they said.
Murphy, Sweeney and Coughlin also agreed that the Senate would waive its approval of the governor’s picks for a Cannabis Regulatory Commission, effectively granting the governor more sway in determining who will be responsible for regulating the industry.
Comments
Did the math @ current prices
Did the math @ current prices we are looking at around $482 per oz about +180 over market price