In my role as founder of the international organization Doctors for Cannabis Regulation (DFCR), and as a founding steering committee member of New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform (NJUMR), I have supported people’s right to home cultivation both here and around the country.
The possibility that New Jersey would not allow home grow is a perplexing one. Every one of the 11 states that have legalized cannabis for adult use also legalized home cultivation for medical and/or personal use. Among the four states that voted to legalize adult use in last month’s election, only New Jersey has threatened to prohibit all home cultivation.
There are compelling public health, personal liberty and social justice priorities that explain every other state legislatures’ unanimity on this issue. Given that a Rutgers-Eagleton poll showed that 60% of New Jerseyans support home cultivation, it’s more of a “no-brainer” than a “non-starter.”
We voted overwhelmingly to end cannabis prohibition in the Garden State last month because of its devastating effect on low-income communities and communities of color. Banning our citizens from growing their own cannabis will only perpetuate the harms caused by overzealous policing. Just as Black New Jerseyans are far more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than their white counterparts, they would surely be disproportionately targeted for the simple act of growing a few plants for medical or personal use.