For two years, New Jersey lawmakers had failed to mobilize enough support to pass a bill to fully legalize marijuana. Instead, they agreed in December to put the question directly to voters: “Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called ‘cannabis’?”
Then March roared in, and the world turned upside down.
The coronavirus took a firm hold in the United States and Black Lives Matter protesters filled streets from coast to coast.
Filmmaker Kevin Smith isn’t trying to convince New Jersey residents who should get their vote for president this November—but he does want voters in his home state to support a marijuana legalization referendum that will appear on the ballot.
The cannabis culture icon of “Jay and Silent Bob” fame on Thursday urged his Twitter followers to “VOTE YES when you see State Public Question Number 1: Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Marijuana.”
A coalition of New Jersey organizations campaigning for voter approval of a November 3 referendum to legalize adult-use marijuana launched a new ad today to educate the public on the cost of cannabis arrests and the need to redeploy law enforcement to protecting state residents.
In November, New Jersey voters will get to decide whether or not marijuana should be legal for recreational use. Axel Owen is the campaign manager for NJ CAN 2020, a coalition made up of advocacy groups and members of the cannabis industry who are campaigning for legalized marijuana for people 21 and over.
“To basically give them the opportunity to buy it in a controlled facility that is regulated and safe from seed for sale. That we actually know what exactly you’re getting, the potency, that there’s no contamination,” Owen said.
With less than 80 days until Election Day, the campaigns for and against New Jersey marijuana legalization have been eerily quiet.
What has been a wall-to-wall media blitz in other states has been barely a blip on the New Jersey political spectrum, ever since the state Legislature last year — after years of Democratic leaders trying to pass a marijuana legalization bill themselves — punted the issue to the voters, placing a proposed state constitutional amendment the ballot.
The campaign to pass a referendum to legalize marijuana in New Jersey has launched a new interactive website to build grassroots support for the November general election.
NJCAN2020.org is set up as a virtual clearinghouse to help voters learn more about cannabis legalization. The site will also provide a platform for grassroots organizing and a dialogue with stakeholders.
NJ CAN 2020, the political committee leading the charge to legalize marijuana in November, announced Axel Owen as the campaign manager for the inclusive and robust effort leading to a “yes” vote on the 2020 ballot question to legalize cannabis in New Jersey.
The coalition advocating for passage of a referendum to legalize marijuana in New Jersey, has tapped a top state political operative to manage their campaign.
Axel Owen, a former Democratic State Committee political director, will lead NJ CAN 2020, an alliance of organizations forging a joint campaign for a yes vote in the November general election.