New Jersey's rush toward legal marijuana has slowed to a crawl.
Gov. Phil Murphy's first 100 days in office came and went without a legal weed bill passing the Legislature. Then, on July 1, Murphy signed a state budget that does not anticipate non-medical marijuana sales in the next year, forcing the administration to strip out $60 million in revenue that it had anticipated from taxes on the drug.
Even though summers typically bring the doldrums for controversial and complex legislation, the state's legal weed advocates insist that they're on the verge of a breakthrough. It's one area of agreement between Murphy and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who locked horns over non-marijuana tax increases during state budget negotiations.
"We're rounding the corner with marijuana," Sweeney told reporters Sunday, after the budget compromise with Murphy was finalized.