Two insiders with knowledge of the process told NJ Cannabis Media in essence the same thing: There appears to be too much work on key sticking points in the bills, particularly the adult-use legalization, and no clear-cut consensus that the bill will pass.
That work falls into two categories: 1. Issues with the details of the bill that have to be ironed out and 2. the politics of the bill.
The primary obstacle appears to be the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, the proposed five-person body that will basically oversee all aspects of the cannabis industry in New Jersey.
The issue is power: How much and who has it?
It’s a battle between the legislature and Governor Phil Murphy as well as the intricacies of creating a bureaucracy.
A hint of the importance of the issue came Friday, when Senate President Stephen Sweeney, sitting on the same panel as Coughlin, said that there will be a Cannabis Commission, possibly permanently.