When will weed be legal?
We don’t know.
The New Jersey State Senate passed legislation to decriminalize the possession of up to six ounces of marijuana on Monday. However, a controversial statute regarding legal penalties for the possession of psychedelic mushrooms has stalled the bill in the State Assembly.
This bill is not the end point. Instead, it is simply an interim measure until another bill for full legalization of the drug is ironed out.
Until either a bill on decriminalization or full legalization passes, use of marijuana in New Jersey is still prohibited under state law. The law will continue to be enforced, according to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
State Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nick Scutari has proposed an ambitious timeline, claiming that legislation to open the market could come in weeks if not days. However, many of his colleagues have warned that it could take well into 2021 for the industry to open given the complexities of industry regulation.
The time between victory at the ballot box and a bill for legalization varies amongst the states who have already legalized cannabis. While Nevada passed legislation just 53 days after the referendum passed, it took California, Colorado, Washington, and Michigan all over a year to do the same.