The New Jersey legislature passed the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act in December, 2020 (NJ A21) that would establish a licensing system with six classes of licenses to cultivate and distribute cannabis. While the bill would prioritize licenses in “impact zones,” meaning zones with high unemployment and a history of cannabis-related offenses, the bill was criticized for limiting the availability of licenses to 37 licenses total over the next two years for both medical and recreational cultivators. Some of these licenses have already been claimed by medical cultivators who were previously growing cannabis for medical use in the state, meaning the total number of licenses available to the marketplace will be scarce. Licenses that have not already been awarded will be distributed by the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission. The process for distributing licenses has still not been finalized and legislators expect that it will take at least six months to award the licenses. The bill was also criticized for failing to create strict protections for employers if their employees test positive for cannabis, as the legislation does not curtail the ability of employees in certain industries to use cannabis.
AJ 21 would also distribute at least 70 percent of tax revenues from retail sales of cannabis products to investments in impact zones, which are largely in minority communities in New Jersey that have been adversely affected by the criminalization of cannabis. Legislators believe investment towards impact zones will create a more diverse and equitable marketplace.
Governor Murphy declined to sign NJ A21 into law, citing the need for civil penalties for individuals under 21 caught with cannabis. A new “clean-up” bill, A5211 and S3320, was proposed to address his concerns. Under this bill, people between the ages of 18 and 20 would incur a fine for illegally possessing cannabis: up to $250 civil fine for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, and a $500 fine for possession of between one and six ounces.