Adult use is supported by the state’s two most powerful lawmakers and, three months ago, 67 percent of the state’s voters backed a constitutional amendment saying New Jerseyans aged 21 and over should be allowed to sell and use cannabis.
Even so, New Jersey’s three-year odyssey toward a regulated cannabis market nearly ran aground over disagreements between Murphy, top Democrats and leaders of the Black and Latino legislative caucuses over how to penalize kids who have been caught with a loose joint.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Scutari chairs, had been scheduled to hold a vote on the latest clean-up bill at 3 p.m. Wednesday. That meeting was ultimately canceled.
The committee punted on the legislation on Tuesday in order to provide more runway for negotiations between the Murphy administration and Democratic lawmakers. But after a caucus meeting early Wednesday afternoon, it became apparent there wasn’t a path forward.
Murphy, speaking during a news conference on Monday, said he's had a "good back and forth" and that he's hopeful that any issues can be resolved soon.
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin extended the deadline to Feb. 18, allowing the Senate to "complete its discussions and conclude negotiations with the Assembly and governor on revisions to the cannabis legislation."
The legislation would address Murphy's concerns that the state Legislature's bill doesn't penalize underage adults and children for using the drug.
Two legislative committees on Thursday voted to advance identical versions of the “clean-up” bill, NJ A5211 (20R), to the floor of both the Senate and Assembly. Full votes have been scheduled for Jan. 11, the day before Murphy is scheduled to deliver an annual State of the State address he's typically used as a showcase for the previous year's policy achievements.
The details: The legalization and decriminalization bills make a distinction between marijuana and cannabis, even though they’re the same plant. Cannabis is the term for the legalized drug and marijuana refers to products sold through the unregulated market, according to four people familiar with the discussion.
Although marijuana decriminalization bills A1897/A4269 passed in the Assembly, the cannabis decriminalization bill in the Senate, Senate bill S2535, is preferred as it offers more meaningful reform and a fairer policy than the Assembly bills and especially for those who are disproportionately arrested and even after possible legalization.
A coalition of Senators introduced legislation (Senate Bill 2535) to decriminalize the personal possession of marijuana for adults.
Under this proposal, activities involving the possession and/or distribution of up to one pound of cannabis would be subject to a written warning. A subsequent offense would be punishable by a civil fine of no more than $25.00.
New Jersey has struggled in the past to pass marijuana legislation, seeing bills that would decriminalize 15 grams of weed, among others, languish in the state legislature and never become law. However, Gov. Phil Murphy and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, both Democrats who were recently skeptical of easing restrictions on weed, have indicated their stances have shifted.
On Thursday, members of the New Jersey state Assembly approved a substitute version of A1897 by a 63-10 vote, with five abstentions. As currently written, the measure decriminalizes the possession and distribution of up to two ounces of marijuana by adults — making these activities punishable by a $50 fine. Those found to be in violation of the law will no longer be arrested or saddled with a criminal record.
Even before voters get to decide in November whether to legalize recreational marijuana use in New Jersey, possession of small amounts of pot could be decriminalized if Gov. Phil Murphy signs legislation that passed the Assembly on Thursday.