What’s in (and not in) A-21/S-21?
“[The bill] has been introduced as the most progressive cannabis legislation in the country yet it falls short of substantive social equity provisions seen in other states,” said Jessica Gonzalez, General Counsel for Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM), in an email to Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary.
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.
Lawmakers in New Jersey advanced amended legislation on Thursday to enact a regulated marijuana market in the state, although new differences between Assembly and Senate versions of the proposal mean that further negotiations will be needed before anything can be enacted.
More than two-thirds of New Jersey voters passed a referendum on Election Day to legalize cannabis for adults, but state lawmakers still have to pass legislation to establish rules for the new system before legal sales can begin.
The enabling bill, NJ S21 (20R) / NJ A21 (20R), which broadly resembles a failed cannabis legalization measure considered by lawmakers last year, is a 200-page-plus behemoth containing intricate criminal justice reforms, licensing provisions and economic recovery measures.
Lawmakers pulled the bill from a Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee meeting last week to resolve outstanding disagreements.
The New Jersey legislature is working quickly to pass this enabling legislation, known as the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act” (NJCREAMMA) (S21/A21).
But on Thursday, the state Senate and Assembly committees delayed scheduled hearings and a vote on the bill (S21/A21) after advocates and some lawmakers criticized the legislation for failing to direct tax revenue to communities harmed by the drug war. On Thursday evening, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, said he remains open to an additional tax on the marijuana industry and to earmarking revenue for community programs.
A week after New Jerseyans voted to legalize cannabis, Gov. Phil Murphy and state lawmakers are at odds over legislation that would allow the state to become the only adult use market between Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts.
New Jersey is another step closer to launching a marijuana industry, as a key lawmaker introduced a bill Friday that outlines how the potential multi-billion-dollar market will operate.
Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, introduced the legislation (S21/A21) late Friday evening. It largely pulls from the bill he sponsored last year to legalize marijuana. Lawmakers dropped the initial effort in late 2019 after failing multiple times to muster enough support to pass it.