As the New Jersey Legislature closed shop for summer recess, thoughts of what could have been on the marijuana legalization effort that stalled flitted among legislators and lawyers.
Why the weed bill failed this year was baffling. Many considered it a slam dunk in a state with a Democratic-controlled Legislature and a Democratic governor who not only supported the measure but made legalizing adult use of marijuana a centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign in 2017.
New Jersey
After Senate Bill 2703 was tabled for lack of votes in the Democrat-controlled legislature in late March, there were hopes of finding the votes and getting the New Jersey Marijuana Legalization Act on the floor in Trenton. But despite support from Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, that didn’t happen in the spring legislative session.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney now says the best chance for legalization in the Garden State is a voter referendum in 2020. The legislature has to pass measures in 2019 and 2020 to allow such a popular vote.
The legal marijuana movement, which in recent years has flourished in coastal states, is taking up new roots in the Midwest even as efforts have stalled in nearly a dozen other states this year.
Lawmakers in Illinois approved a measure Friday to legalize the sale of marijuana to anyone over the age of 21, making it the second state in the nation’s interior to legalize pot, after Michigan.
Contrary to what’s being said, lawmakers can still pass a bill legalizing adult-use of marijuana; it’s the wise thing to do
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” read a cable sent by Mark Twain from London to the press in the United States after his obituary had been mistakenly published.
Marijuana legalization is likely to be on the ballot in 2020 after New Jersey legislators fell just short of the required votes to make the state the 10th in the country to legalize and establish a marketplace. Legislators are reluctant to put the issue on this year’s ballot because the 2020 general election is sure to turn out more voters. For now, the hopes of New Jersey pot consumers and entrepreneurs for legalization are up in smoke.
The potential for a ballot question next year asking the public to decide whether or not to legalize recreational marijuana foreshadows huge spending by independent, outside groups.
Keep in mind that it was just three years ago that New Jersey had its most expensive ballot contest ever- a $25 million election in which voters balked at allowing casinos outside of Atlantic City.
A ballot initiative involving legalized marijuana also would surely invite millions of dollars of spending by special interests attempting to influence the people to support or oppose legalization.
Legalization a popular cause in state
According to a February poll conducted by Monmouth University, 62 percent of New Jerseyans believe that the possession and use of marijuana should be legal, and 74 percent support the expungement of past marijuana convictions.
Assembly and Senate lawmakers were initially expected to decide on the issue in March. However, plans for a Senate floor vote were pulled after it became apparent that the measure lacked majority support in the legislature’s upper house.
As for recreational pot, Sweeney has said he will now push for a voter referendum on the issue.
The move to a referendum makes sense. Recent polls have consistently shown the majority of Garden State voters support recreational weed. A Monmouth University poll in February showed 62 percent of New Jersey adults supported legalizing small amounts of recreational marijuana while just 32 percent opposed it. And of 10 states that have legalized recreational pot only Vermont did so without a referendum. However, voters in Ohio, Arizona and North Dakota have all rejected such measures.
But social equity has been both a sticking point and selling point this year in New York and New Jersey, among other states weighing whether to join the 10 that allow recreational use of pot.
Complicating the law-making process, sometimes even among supporters, are questions about how best to erase marijuana convictions and ensure that people who were arrested for pot benefit from legal marijuana markets.
The truth is New Jersey should have legalized recreational marijuana a long time ago. Gov. Phil Murphy said during his campaign that he was going to make legalization one of his top priorities during his first 100 days in office. It was a move that Senate President Stephen Sweeney believed could be squared up by April of last year, allowing recreational sales to begin in 2019.
But lawmakers were never able to come to terms.