In 2013, 66 New Jerseyans every day were arrested for low level cannabis-related offenses. That number has risen to 94, a more than 40 percent jump.
Cannabis advocates and politicians in Trenton launched 94 No More on Monday, a campaign focused on bringing attention to the thousands of people arrested annually for low-level cannabis offenses, even during a time when many in New Jersey are pushing for full legalization.
Percentage by which NJ marijuana arrests increased between 2013 and 2017
Researchers said seven counties saw more than 2,000 marijuana possession arrests in 2017:
“Legalization is about racial justice,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU in New Jersey.
Despite growing public support for the legalized use of recreational marijuana, arrests in New Jersey have increased in recent years, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2017, the state reportedly had more arrests of Blacks users of the plant, and at higher rates, than almost every other state.
NJ Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Little Silver, Monmouth) wants voters to decide if should legalize recreational cannabis. If a bill recreational cannbis comes up, in lame-duck, O’Scanlon’s a NO vote.
“There’s legitimate value to be gained by waiting,” Sen O’Scanlon told InsiderNJ. “We’ll have a lot more info from other states and that’ll make a compelling (referendum) debate in November of 2020.”
Jackson police said they made 87 motor vehicle stops and issued 32 motor vehicle summons on Route 537 outside Six Flags as part of a "directed enforcement detail in an effort to address distracted, aggressive and impaired driving.”
Route 537 is the main four lane road to the park bringing traffic from Route 195.
Officers on foot, bicycle and in police vehicles were also looking for “illegal activity” in the parking lot including and issued at least nine summons for marijuana possession, according to Jackson police.
In New Jersey, the issue of criminal justice has been a key part of the conversation around legalizing recreational marijuana. But high arrest rates and wide racial disparities persist, even as the state draws nearer to legalizing pot. It’s leading to questions of how legalization will affect those already in the system, and how law enforcement will need to overcome new challenges to keep the public safe.
Saying he wants to allow people to “move on with their lives,” Jeff Irwin, a Michigan state senator from Ann Arbor, has introduced a bill that would allow the state to expunge the arrest records of state residents on misdemeanor marijuana use and possession charges.
The pitch to legalize adult use cannabis in New Jersey includes amends to people who’ve been unfairly or disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs. Cannabis legalization is coming to New Jersey, it’s a matter of when at this point.
But what about all those people still getting locked us for something that’s legal in other states? And what happens to the criminal records of low-level, non-violent pot offenders once cannabis becomes a multi-billion dollar business here in New Jersey?