Gov. Phil Murphy will replace one member of the panel to regulate the new cannabis industry with a staffer in U.S. Sen. Cory Booker’s office after the makeup of the commission came under fire from the NAACP, NJ Advance Media has learned.
Charles Barker, who works for Booker in the senator’s Newark office, will replace another Murphy appointee, William Wallace of the United Food and Commercial Workers, according to an administration source.
Wallace will take a senior staff role on the commission, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the pending appointment.
Murphy announced the full Cannabis Regulatory Commission last month after he signed bills to launch a legal cannabis industry and decriminalize marijuana. The commission will establish rules and regulations for the new legal cannabis industry and will oversee licensing and allocation of tax revenue.
Reported by NJ Advance media