Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has frequently been asked about the lack of a home grow option in New Jersey’s cannabis program, and he’s expressed openness to the proposal before. But he made clear during a Q&A session on WNYC radio on Monday that he doesn’t think the time is right to enact that additional reform.
A caller framed the question to the governor in a pointed way, asking when in the marijuana plant’s life cycle it actually becomes legal. The current policy, he said, “makes it seem, respectfully, that it’s that the plant itself is not really legal—but the ability to make money off of the plant is legal.”
Murphy said it was a “good question.”
“I’m not sure I’m the right guy to ask the existential question of when does the plant become the reality here, so I’ll leave that to someone else,” the governor said. “I’m of the opinion that we should revisit that question at some point. And I’m not sure when the right time is to revisit it.”
“I think we need to get the industry probably either more on its feet or completely on its feet,” the governor said. “It’s going really well. The good news is it’s going really, really well. But we don’t have enough locations yet and I want to see a little bit more maturity in the market.”