To help facilitate social change, the commission will give preference to cannabis business who apply for licenses in what the bill labels “impact zones,” which are defined as areas “for which past criminal marijuana enterprises contributed to higher concentrations of law enforcement activity, unemployment, and poverty.” An impact zone must have a population at least 120,000 people, a high crime index as measured by the State Police, an annual average unemployment rate of 15 percent, and rank in the top 33 percent for marijuana- or hashish-related arrests.
New Jersey is going to soon legalize recreational marijuana use. While not every state resident is excited by this step, we believe legalizing what are regularly occurring activities makes sense.
Not only will it bring about an important element of justice as far too many men of color were incarcerated for actions that no longer will be illegal but also increased revenue flows will give some relief to overburdened taxpayers.
As the Garden State looks to legalize cannabis, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has two priorities: a greater bite of revenue for municipalities and social justice.
In a recent interview with NJ Cannabis Insider, Baraka shared his thoughts on what he believes is necessary to get larger cities on board.
Yes We Cannabis!
Gurbir Grewal wants to reform NJ’s marijuana laws. He was set to issue new prosecution guidelines, a sort of decrim-light, when Jersey City prosecutor Jake Hudnut scooped him.
That delighted cannabis activists but frustrated the Attorney General who maintains the Jersey City model, no matter how instinctively pleasing to reformers, actually diminishes the discretion of law enforcement.
And as legalization spreads, established companies in early-adopting states are looking to expand — especially to the East Coast, which is expected to largely legalize in the coming years. Rolling Stone caught up with Peter Barsoom, CEO of 1906 Edibles, a Colorado-based company that specializes in mood-targeting cannabis treats for both the medical and recreational markets. Currently only available in Colorado, they’re moving into both the Massachusetts and Canadian markets next year.
State officials are currently negotiating on a marijuana legalization bill that could be the most forward-thinking in the country, said Jake Hudnut, Chief Prosecutor in Jersey City, NJ. The bill, if signed into law, would mean the immediate release of inmates serving time for non-violent pot crimes.
Jersey City has been in the news about New Jersey Marijuana Legalization from the start. With Mayor Steve Fulop speaking out in favor of the efforts and positioning Jersey City to be a major player in the upcoming New Jersey legal market. Recently the Mayor came together with the Mayors of Newark and Hoboken to demand more social justice and criminal record expungments to be part of any new legislation if new Marijuana business wish to locate in these prime markets.
Mayors from some of the largest cities in New Jersey today warned that recreational marijuana dispensaries wouldn’t be welcomed in their boundaries unless people with marijuana convictions were released from jail and their records get expunged.
Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla met in Newark City Hall to tell lawmakers that those provisions and others needed to be passed in order for them to get behind recreational marijuana.
Legal marijuana is so close in New Jersey you can almost smell it. But does soon-to-be-filed legislation do enough to ensure social equity under a legal cannabis system?
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) isn’t so sure. And he’s calling on fellow mayors to join him in pressing for stronger social justice protections such as the expungement of records for marijuana offenses and permitting those with cannabis-related convictions to obtain business licenses to participate in the legal industry.
“Let me be the first to say I stand with @rasjbaraka on this,” Fulop tweeted in response to a Baraka press release on social justice reforms pertaining to marijuana.
“The state of NJ needs #Newark , #JerseyCity and urban mayors to be fully engaged to meet their state projections. These provisions outlined here are important to us to move 4ward. Period.”
Baraka’s release came in light of him sending a letter to the NJ Urban Mayors’ Association urging them to join him in calling on the state legislature to reform marijuana laws.
