The argument for legalization is centered on the idea that marijuana prohibition laws have not only failed to stop people from using marijuana and created a black market, but also that states are paying an inordinate amount of money to incarcerate individuals for possession of even a small amount of pot. Indeed, according to recent estimates, New Jersey shells out approximately $127 million per year on marijuana possession enforcement costs; money that advocates say could be better spent on other needs.
Rob Cressen “You could kill an elephant with all of the pills I’ve taken, and my liver failed four times in five years…I have 99 problems, but because of marijuana, opioid addiction is not one of them,”
The Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee hosted a public hearing on pot—the first action taken on the issue in the Assembly under Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex). The committee did not consider specific legislation and plans three more public hearings across the state.
Monday’s hearing comes as the Democratic Murphy is drafting his first budget, which he will unveil later this month, and as he tries to make good on promises to ramp up education and pension spending. Murphy has estimated that marijuana legalization could bring in roughly $300 million in revenue for the state. That’s just a fraction of what he would need to finance his proposals, though the governor cautions that he won’t fulfill his pledges “overnight.”
New Jersey's Democratic-led Assembly on Monday waded into the debate over marijuana legalization, drawing hours of testimony both for and against making it available.
The Assembly Oversight Committee held the hearing in Trenton, with three additional meetings planned for the spring across the state.
The Assembly Oversight Committee is set to hear from experts Monday on cannabis legalization, the first action taken in the Assembly on marijuana since new Democratic Speaker Craig Coughlin took over leadership of the chamber this year.