Nearly 2,000 New Jerseyans Tell Legislature: Legalize Marijuana through Legislation This Session
Days after plan announced to push ballot question to legalize marijuana, nearly 2,000 signers from NJ’s 21 counties demanded legislation that centers racial and social justice
New Jerseyans en masse called on New Jersey’s legislative leadership to legalize marijuana through legislation before the end of this session via a sign-on letter sent by the ACLU of New Jersey. Legislative leadership, Gov. Murphy, and all members of the General Assembly received the sign-on letter just days after Senate President Stephen Sweeney announced intentions to push a ballot measure forcing the voters to decide on a constitutional amendment rather than going through the legislative process.
The letter (PDF) garnered almost 2,000 signatures, including those from individuals from all 21 New Jersey counties who combined their voices to urge lawmakers to pass legalization that prioritizes racial and social justice and ends the state’s 30,000-plus marijuana arrests annually.
“The overwhelming majority of New Jerseyans supports cannabis legalization, and today scores of concerned residents joined together to let lawmakers know that we need to legalize, tax, and regulate adult-use marijuana now, through legislation,” said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha. “Every moment without cannabis legalization means almost 100 marijuana arrests per day, with communities of color disproportionately bearing that brunt of enforcement. Our state needs legalization in a way that secures racial and social justice, and a ballot measure cannot give that assurance.”