When medical cannabis dispensaries hire lobbyists in Trenton, they’re not lobbying for us, the patients. They’re lobbying for themselves, usually against us. For example: to defend their marketshare, NJ’s medical cannabis dispensaries have aggressively lobbied against provisions for the home cultivation of cannabis.
That’s why cultivation remains extremely illegal in NJ where, despite a wildly successful recreational cannabis referendum, you can still go to jail for 5 years for a single pot plant.
That’s the opposite is social justice. And it put NJ out-of-line with nearly everywhere else in America where cannabis is legal.
NJ Senator Jean Stanfield reps NJ’s 8th legislative district. A former Burlington Co. Sheriff, she calls cannabis reform an issue of “liberty” and recently co-sponsored legislation, S353, to legalize the home cultivation of cannabis for recreational AND medicinal purposes.
“Since marijuana is now legal in New Jersey, it’s crazy people can’t grow their own at home,” Senator Stanfield told InsiderNJ. “For many this is medicine which insurance doesn’t cover so many patients in my district can’t afford it. I have Vietnam Veterans who come up to me at events and tell me they can’t afford their medicine and so we need to do more to help them.”
Senator Stanfield’s sponsorship made this bill a bipartisan affair. And if a republican former sheriff from NJ’s most competitive district thinks it’s time to grow our own weed, then we’ve definitely crossed the point of no return on the homegrow issue.
The only question is how much longer will Democratic legislators (who control Trenton) remain in line with a marijuana industry keen to lock down the entire marketplace for themselves.
NJ Senate President Nick Scutari sounds like he wants to have it both ways.