This was supposed to be the big year for marijuana legalization. But in many state capitols across the country, efforts have stalled or collapsed as Democrats clash over everything from race and criminal justice to how to divvy up a gold mine of pot-tax revenue.
Legalization of recreational marijuana seemed all but inevitable in at least a half-dozen states when the year began — including New York, New Jersey and Illinois, which all have Democratic legislatures.
“So far it has been pretty disappointing to see long-time legislators failing to deliver their promise to end prohibition,” Chris Goldstein, an activist, writer and educator from Philadelphia told The Marijuana Times. “In 2016, at the Democratic National Convention, the party passed a platform stance called ‘A Pathway to Legalization’. But the machine Democrats of New Jersey have put up nothing but roadblocks ever since. In some ways we can’t expect Trenton to have the courage to regulate adult-use cannabis when no other state legislature has taken that plunge yet.
Legal weed in New Jersey is dead. After a prolonged attempt at resuscitation, it was called at 11 a.m. on Wednesday by state Senate President Stephen Sweeney.
Well, actually, wasn’t it dead already? What were the odds Gov. Phil Murphy or legislative leaders were going to get the votes for it? Everyone was dug in. Maybe there was a glimmer of hope for supporters, but that was extinguished by the tax incentives fight. And those who don’t want to see the tax incentives examined so closely certainly have an interest in blaming the marijuana legislative failure on the investigation.
Murphy said he’s open to signing both bills, but “the devil will be in the details.”
Sweeney had tied the legalization bill, NJ S2703 (18R), to the two other measures relating to the state’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry and criminal justice reform.
Murphy, at an unrelated press conference, rejected that premise.
“I reject being blamed for trying to help citizens out who have nowhere else to turn, whose lives are at stake or quality of life is a stake,” he said during the presser. “I wouldn’t call that blame. This is my responsibility as governor.”
The setback is the latest of many, and it means that recreational marijuana may not be a reality in New Jersey for at least another year and a half. Legalizing marijuana was a campaign promise of Murphy's, and lawmakers had spent months before he even took office laying the groundwork for its passage.
But Murphy and Sweeney were unable to muster enough support from fellow Democrats to pass the measure. The Assembly was said to have had enough votes to surpass the 41-vote threshold in that chamber, but the Senate fell short of its required 21 votes.
New Jersey’s top lawmaker said Tuesday he was giving up on the effort to legalize recreational marijuana through the Legislature and would instead put the issue up for voters to decide next year.
Senate President Steve Sweeney also said he would move forward with bills to expand the state’s medical cannabis program and expunge existing marijuana convictions.
It was a gaffe, but it was telling.
Hours after a well-orchestrated push to pass a legal-weed bill died in the Trenton statehouse, Gov. Phil Murphy announced to the clicking of cameras that a “postmortem” would be done.
The men standing next to him at the lectern — Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin — chuckled and quietly corrected him.
These Limits Are Ridiculous
Among the glaring items that need fixing: An onerous recertification process that requires some patients to get a doctor’s note every 30, 60, or 90 days. In New Jersey, a Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP) card is valid for two years. However, the law requires a patient with a card to return to the doctor at least every 90 days for recertification.
Until last year, every state that had legalized marijuana had done so at the polls, with voters approving legal weed.
When Phil Murphy won the race for governor in 2017, it seemed possible that New Jersey would become the first state to legalize marijuana through the Legislature. But in January 2018, Vermont did just that.
New Jersey then seemed primed to become the second state to legislate legal weed. But delay after delay has led some lawmakers to wonder whether the state would be better letting the voters decide.