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.
The city council in August approved a set of resolutions that supported medical marijuana and sent location proposals to the planning board for review. On Monday, the Newark Central Planning Board approved amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance for the facilities.
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.
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School first year student Daniel Oh asked Elnahal if there was any monitoring to make sure mistakes aren’t repeated.
“The side effect profile, in particular the risk for dependence, addiction, overdose, death — all of those are much lower and nonexistent for marijuana versus opioids. The other thing is we’re not necessarily recommending it as a first-line therapy, we’re just allowing you now to recommend it as a first-line therapy. It’s still a clinical judgement,” Elnahal replied.
New Jersey Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal continued to promote the state’s medicinal marijuana program this week to perhaps its most important constituency – doctors.
The number of patients and the industry as a whole can’t grow unless medical professionals provide medical marijuana as an option to patients.
Elnahal held the first of three grand rounds lectures on Monday at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, talking to a standing room audience of more than 100 attendees.
Recently New Jersey's largest city has signaled it would be in favor of a new Medical Marijuana Facility in what Mayor Raz Baraka desribed as "Green Zones".
Submitted by njlegalizeme on Sun, 09/09/2018 - 21:28
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.
While New Jersey lurches toward legalizing recreational marijuana, one Newark lawmaker is leading the conversation against it.
State Sen. Ron Rice (D-Essex), who on Monday hosted a town hall in Hillside, believes the current legalization bill would lead to more foreclosures in Newark, drive up health care costs and do little to address the racial disparities in the criminal justice system for past - and future - marijuana convictions.
Mayor Ras J. Baraka today sent a letter to members of the NJ Urban Mayors’ Association asking them to join him in seeking to strengthen the social justice and home rule provisions of legislation pending in the state legislature to legalize adult use of cannabis.