Caruso said the push to legalize recreational use will have nothing to do with an increase in medicinal use and everything to do with political will on the issue.
And right now, he said, he’s not seeing much.
“There has been a dearth of political action by some of the folks who have been driving this effort in the political and governmental space,” he said. “The governor doubled down again in his budget, but there was a lull for a while on the issue.”
The same, he said, goes for State Sen. Nicholas Scutari, who has co-authored one of the few bills on cannabis. A bill everyone agrees needs to be amended.
“Scutari had to drop off because of issues in his home county (of Union) due to the chairman fight, but he’s sort of re-engaged now,” Caruso said.
As for the legislative leaders?
“(Assembly Speaker Craig) Coughlin seems lukewarm on this issue, almost to the point where I’m wondering if he has the motivation to get this done,” Caruso said.
In the end, however, Caruso still thinks a deal will get worked out.
There’s plenty to do. But that’s always the case in Trenton, which works by its own calendar.
“I go back to this point,” he said. “June is the time period when deals get done.
“If Murphy wants this, and there’s revenue attached to it, and if the minority community wants to deal with the issues related to racial and social justice, and they’re able to push on the levers that they need to push on, I think there’s a lot of good stuff that’s in the ether right now that can come together.
“There’s no reason this can’t get done on June 30; there just has to be the political will to get to it.”