Three sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, told NJ Advance Media a switch on the five-member panel is imminent, but it’s not clear when the announcement will be made.
The NAACP blasted the makeup of the commission when Murphy announced its formation last month. It includes only one Black person, but no Black men. Police have disproportionately arrested Black men for marijuana use for decades.
Apart from the racial justice gap, the makeup may also violate the law. The legalization law requires at least one member be a representative of a national organization or a state chapter of a national organization dedicated to combating “minority historical oppression, past and present discrimination, unemployment, poverty and income inequality, and other forms of social injustice or inequality.”
It’s unknown now who the new appointee will be, but it will not be Todd Edwards, political action chair of the NAACP, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations. The organization had put him forward as a possible candidate.
