Our Revolution New Jersey is calling for a socially and racially just approach to cannabis legalization. As November’s ballot measure nears, it is important to recognize that the legalization measure does not address any aspect of restorative justice. There are no expungements, no releases, and no racial justice provisions. It is unacceptable and cruel to leave people in jail and with records as the people of New Jersey celebrate the legalization of cannabis.
Will New Jersey become next state to fully legalize marijuana? It’s one of four that could take the step this year. On November 3, New Jersey voters will decide on Question 1, a constitutional amendment to legalize for adults over 21. The result will have an enormous impact in a state that arrests about 100 people every day on marijuana charges.
Roughly 1 in 3 Americans could have access to legal recreational marijuana if voters approve state ballot initiatives this November.
While a planned House vote on legalizing weed at the federal level is scheduled for later this month, the real action remains in the states. That’s because even if the House measure passes, there’s zero chance the Republican-controlled Senate will take up the bill, which would eliminate federal criminal penalties and erase some past marijuana convictions.
The president of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association slammed Republican county chairs for passing a resolution opposing a legalization ballot referendum Thursday.
“This is such an incredibly short-sighted, poorly thought out decision,” Scott Rudder said. “We know the war on cannabis has been a total failure. We know it has disproportionately impacted minority communities and needlessly ruined the lives of many for no good reason. We know that many of the myths about cannabis — some of which the chairs clearly buy into — have been disproven.”
Call it a tale of two marijuana bills and two New Jersey senators at loggerheads over which marijuana bill should be given priority. Add on top accusations of racial unfairness in the state Senate, given the dearth of Black senators as committee chairs at a time when criminal justice reform is taking center stage in Trenton.
Sen. Ron Rice, D-Essex, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus and one of five Black senators in the 40-member Senate, contends that Black Senate Democrats—himself included—are being treated unfairly.
When New Jersey voters are asked this fall to decide on a state constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational marijuana and regulate its sale, the Ocean County Board of Freeholders want them to just say no.
The five-member, all-Republican board is expected to approve a resolution at its next regular meeting on Wednesday that will declare its opposition to the proposed amendment.
New Jersey’s Republican county chairs are united in their opposition to a ballot measure on marijuana legalization.
The Republican County Chairmen’s Association on Thursday unanimously voted to adopt a resolution opposing the referendum and urging their supporters to vote it down.
“We also are strongly opposed to using our State’s constitution to legalize pot. Pro-pot legislators couldn’t get a bill passed, so, instead, they’re trashing our constitution,” Hudson County Republican Chairman Jose Arango said.
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.
Efforts to legalize marijuana in New Jersey are in the air.
Single-engine prop planes — hired by two separate organizations — dragged pro-weed banners through the skies Saturday over the South Jersey beaches. The banners urged state residents to vote yes Nov. 3 on a ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis use.
Polling shows that roughly three out of five Jersey voters support the measure, which would allow marijuana sales to all adults 21 and over.