Despite the passionate and emotional pleas from those who support the legalization of recreational marijuana, the Ocean County Board of Freeholders was undeterred in its opposition.
The five-member, all-Republican board on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution against a proposed amendment to the New Jersey state constitution on the ballot in the fall election that would allow adults — who are at least 21 — to be able to purchase and consume pot in a similar regulated way as alcohol.
The county resolution against the state constitutional amendment is symbolic and does not carry the weight of law. Nevertheless, some proponents of recreational marijuana legalization in New Jersey fear the resolution could be enough to influence conservative voters in Ocean County who might otherwise have been ambivalent about the issue.