With most state legislatures adjourned for the 2019 calendar year, the New Jersey legislature is one of just a few legislative bodies that are still in session. With a year-long legislative session, state lawmakers have already debated and passed significant legislation related to the state’s medical marijuana program, solitary confinement and assisted suicide. Unfortunately, an effort to legalize adult-use marijuana stalled in the Senate after members of the House advanced HB 4477 earlier this year.
But the fight isn’t over. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney recently signaled that there would be a renewed effort to legalize and regulate the adult-use of marijuana. For advocates like Charlana McKeithen, executive director of Garden State NORML, the news has inspired new hope that New Jersey could be the second state to legalize adult-use marijuana through the legislative process.