As municipalities weigh how to handle the nascent cannabis industry setting up shop in the Garden State, a USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey analysis of the November ballot question legalizing marijuana reveals an almost universal message from voters across the state: "historically popular" support.
Marijuana legalization won the support of voters in 562 of the 565 municipalities in New Jersey, according to the analysis, the most detailed review of the vote undertaken to date.
And of the three towns where voters rejected the ballot question, two are among the smallest towns in the state with less than 15 registered voters each.
The review, with scant exception, showed the pro-legalization vote prevailed north, central and south, in "red" and "blue" swaths of the state, and in rural and urban areas alike.
The actual ballot question — which amended the constitution to legalize the possession, use, purchase, sale and taxation of marijuana — passed 67% to 33% statewide; the analysis, however, showed for the first time how the pro-legalization vote transcended familiar boundaries.