New Jersey lawmakers advanced legislation Monday expanding the state’s medical marijuana program and making it easier for certain convicts to clear their records.
Democrat-led Assembly and Senate committees advanced the measures, with votes in each chamber coming as early as this week.
Monday’s votes come days after Senate President Steve Sweeney said a bill legalizing cannabis for adults 21 and older didn’t have enough support to pass and he instead would pursue a 2020 referendum.
Sweeney also said that in the interim, lawmakers would pursue an expanded medical cannabis program as well as legislation to ease the expungement of certain criminal records.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy supports adult-use cannabis legalization but had a “mixed reaction” to Sweeney’s proposal. Murphy’s office declined to comment Monday on the bills.