O’Scanlon Introduces Legislation to Crackdown on Underage Alcohol and Cannabis Use
Senator Declan O’Scanlon introduced legislation that would reinstate penalties for underage possession and consumption of alcohol and cannabis.
Senator Declan O’Scanlon introduced legislation that would reinstate penalties for underage possession and consumption of alcohol and cannabis.
New Jersey Senate Law and Public Safety Committee advanced a bipartisan measure aiming to regulate the controversial delta-8 products that are widely sold across the state. The bill, S3944, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz (D) and Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R) was first introduced in January.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation into law that will allow healthcare practitioners to remotely authorize medical marijuana use via telemedicine/telehealth.
Murphy signed the bill into law on June 24, according to a press release. Sponsors of the legislation included state assemblywomen Pamela Lampitt and Joann Downey, and state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon.
Legislation sponsored by Senator Declan O’Scanlon that would allow patients to be authorized for medical marijuana by telemedicine received final legislative approval Thursday.
“This will establish a more convenient process for New Jersey residents who rely on medical cannabis to alleviate pain and treat their medical conditions,” said O’Scanlon (R-13). “When advisable, medical practitioners will be able to prescribe therapeutic marijuana electronically, without requiring an in-office visit with the patients.
When New Jersey voted to legalize cannabis, a lot of people thought they would be seeing dispensaries and consumption lounges and delivery services by summer. But the reality appears to be that cannabis demand will exceed legal cannabis supply for most of this year.
Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Senator Anthony M. Bucco are taking the lead to fix some of the most obvious problems with the new cannabis law passed by the Trenton Democrats.
The Senate Republican colleagues will introduce legislation that would restore liability protections for police during a marijuana-related interaction with underage youths and another to repeal a new law prohibiting law enforcement from notifying parents if their child is caught possessing alcohol or marijuana.
The public passed marijuana legalization on Nov. 6th supposedly to be free of the regulatory intrusiveness of government, and today the state Senate Appropriations Committee demonstrated new vistas of intrusive potential as it passed – along party lines – Senate Bill No. 21, with some amendments targeting social justice concerns that diverged from the Assembly version of the bill and created more questions than answers.
New legislation scheduled for a vote in the full state Senate today would ensure patients also have the option of accessing medical marijuana through telemedicine, a growing health care segment that can be particularly useful for elderly individuals and others with limited mobility.
“A lot of people who use medicinal marijuana are pretty ill with cancer,” said Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth), the bill sponsor, by way of example. “Forcing them to go out of the house for treatment — there’s no sense.”
State Sens. Joe Lagana and Brian Stack will back marijuana decriminalization.
According to a New Jersey Globe tally, that brings the number of state senators who opposed legalization but are backing decriminalization up to nine.
State Sens. Declan O’Scanlon, Robert Singer, Ronald Rice, Linda Greenstein and former Governor Dick Codey are also backing the measure, which Democrats are seeking as a stop gap while they await a vote on a 2020 legalization ballot measure.
Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Sens. Linda Greenstein and Dawn Addiego told the New Jersey Globe they were supporting and leaning towards supporting decriminalization, respectively. Greenstein was a soft no on legalization in March. Addiego was simply a no.
Senate Democrats fell five votes short of the 21 needed to pass a marijuana legalization bill in March, but it doesn’t look like they’ll have similar problems with decriminalization.
Five senators who opposed legalization have indicated support for decriminalization.
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