Despite approval of three cannabis bills, including adult use legalization, following a four hour hearing held before the joint session of the New Jersey Senate and Assembly Budget and Appropriation Committees on November 26, 2018, it appears unlikely that marijuana legislation will be voted upon in 2018. December 17, 2018 is the latest voting day of the legislative year and work still remains on gaining consensus on key issues in the bills including the tax rate, expungements and whether the proposed Cannabis Regulatory Commission would be a full-time commission. Work also remains in ensuring the number of votes needed for passage.
During the joint hearing, the Committees considered testimony related to three bills: S2703, the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory and Expungement Aid Modernization Act” which legalizes recreational cannabis, creates a Cannabis Regulatory Commission and provides a social justice component in the form of expungement relief and S10/S2426, the “Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act”, which revises requirements to authorize and access medical cannabis; establishes requirements for institutional caregivers; revises permit requirements for alternative treatment centers; and establishes additional legal protections for patients and caregivers. S2703 specifically provides that the regulation, taxing, control and legalization of marijuana products will be handled similarly to that of alcohol in New Jersey. A controversial component of S2703 also calls for all applicants, except for those seeking conditional or microbusiness licenses, to submit a statement that it has entered into a “labor peace agreement” with bona fide labor organizations.