On Thursday, members of the New Jersey state Assembly approved a substitute version of A1897 by a 63-10 vote, with five abstentions. As currently written, the measure decriminalizes the possession and distribution of up to two ounces of marijuana by adults — making these activities punishable by a $50 fine. Those found to be in violation of the law will no longer be arrested or saddled with a criminal record.
Why We Must End Cannabis Prohibition In New Jersey
The video includes compelling statements by:
1) Scott Rudder - The New Jersey Cannabusiness Association (NJCA)
“New Jersey arrests 94 people every day for marijuana possession.”
2) Charlana McKeithen - Garden State NORML
“For a fair and just society, New Jersey must legalize marijuana.”
3) Dr. David Nathan - Doctors For Cannabis Regulation (DFCR)
“This drug should never have been made against the law in the first place.”
Councilwoman Cindy Matute-Brown hosted a forum about medical marijuana at West Orange High School on Sept. 25, providing the public an opportunity to hear from panelists about the updated state medical marijuana laws and how they will affect zoning laws in West Orange. On the panel was Mark Moon, an attorney for the township; Monica Taing, a doctor of pharmacy; Hugh O’Beirne, president of the New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association; and Charlana McKeithen, executive director of Garden State NORML, a regional chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
With most state legislatures adjourned for the 2019 calendar year, the New Jersey legislature is one of just a few legislative bodies that are still in session. With a year-long legislative session, state lawmakers have already debated and passed significant legislation related to the state’s medical marijuana program, solitary confinement and assisted suicide. Unfortunately, an effort to legalize adult-use marijuana stalled in the Senate after members of the House advanced HB 4477 earlier this year.
Ken Wolski runs the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of NJ.
“Our organization supports Sweeney’s effort to reintroduce marijuana legalization in the legislature in November of 2019 during the lame duck,” Mr Wolski told InsiderNJ. “We realize this legislation won’t have home cultivation in in but we support it nevertheless because of all the good legalization would do like a decrease in mass incarceration.”
Home cultivation would endow the citizens with too much liberty so we can’t have that now can we?
Women Grow – Flemington, the New Jersey branch of the national cannabis networking organization, will host “Home Grown: An Evening with NJ-based Cannabis Advocates and Professionals” on July 12th.
The evening, co-sponsored by Crabapple Cove Accounting Group and Cole Schotz, P.C., will deliver policy updates, advocacy efforts, and first-hand accounts from people who work in the cannabis industry.