A 9am Judiciary Committee Hearing on the state of cannabis in NJ drew hoards of spectators on a chilly rainy summer day. But things heated up quickly once the cannabis debate began. Here are some nuggets from today’s hearing
Knives Out
Trenton – The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Friday to discuss issues related to the state’s implementation of the recreational cannabis law, Senator Brian Stack and Senate President Nick Scutari announced today.
The hearing will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, June 23, 2023 in Committee Room 4 of the State House Annex.
And in front of Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D) and the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, industry leaders and marijuana advocates discussed the pace of setting up the Garden State’s recreational market, scrutinized pricing issues and griped over still-unwritten regulations for employers seeking clarity on when they can and can’t discipline employees who use cannabis.
It’s been a rocky road to implementing marijuana regulations in New Jersey since voters approved a legalization referendum in November. But on Friday, a key Senate committee advanced a “clean up” bill designed to satisfy requests from Gov. Phil Murphy (D).
The legislature has already sent enabling legislation to the governor’s desk, but he’s yet to take action on it because he’s pushing for the inclusion of cannabis-related penalties for underage people. A newly revised bill to address the issue cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in a 6-2 vote, with one abstention.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Scutari chairs, had been scheduled to hold a vote on the latest clean-up bill at 3 p.m. Wednesday. That meeting was ultimately canceled.
The committee punted on the legislation on Tuesday in order to provide more runway for negotiations between the Murphy administration and Democratic lawmakers. But after a caucus meeting early Wednesday afternoon, it became apparent there wasn’t a path forward.
Following weeks of negotiations with the governor, a top New Jersey lawmaker said on Wednesday that he is abandoning revised compromise legislation to implement marijuana regulations in the state.
It’s been more than three months since New Jersey voters approved an adult-use cannabis legalization referendum. In December, lawmakers sent Gov. Phil Murphy (D) a pair of bills to implement legal sales and decriminalize possession, but a dispute with the governor over his desire to see penalties instituted for underage people has stalled the process.
State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) plans to introduce a technical bill to bring into line language differences between decriminalization and legalization bills on the governor’s desk as a fallback in case lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on a cleanup bill in time for votes in both chambers scheduled for later this week.
Legislators plan to pass a bill this week detailing the penalties and fines faced by marijuana users under 21 years old. This "cleanup" bill is seen as the last hurdle before Gov. Phil Murphy signs into law the full package of marijuana legislation, which would essentially put into action the ballot and constitutional amendment approved by voters in November.
Call it a tale of two marijuana bills and two New Jersey senators at loggerheads over which marijuana bill should be given priority. Add on top accusations of racial unfairness in the state Senate, given the dearth of Black senators as committee chairs at a time when criminal justice reform is taking center stage in Trenton.
Sen. Ron Rice, D-Essex, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus and one of five Black senators in the 40-member Senate, contends that Black Senate Democrats—himself included—are being treated unfairly.