New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed three bills into law – two of which are supposed to give students more incentive to pay off their college debts.
But what about the bill that many people have been waiting for – marijuana legalization – and appeared to be on its way toward becoming law until plans were recently scuttled at the last minute?
Three legislative sources told NJ Advance Media that discussions have started on separating the medical and legalization bills and reviewing them separately.
Gov. Phil Murphy made little news during a tele-town hall Monday evening.
The Democratic State Committee-sponsored town hall lasted for roughly an hour and saw Murphy fielding questions on a variety of topics, ranging from marijuana legalization to property tax relief to student loan forgiveness.
On March 25, legislators were set to vote on S-2703, which would legalize the adult use of recreational cannabis. However, after it appeared that there were not enough votes to approve the bill, legislative leaders called off the vote. While no vote took place as intended, Governor Murphy continues to make a push for marijuana legalization. And, reports have the Governor setting a May deadline for a vote on recreational cannabis before he takes executive action to expand medical use.
Despite what felt like sea-changing momentum, marijuana legalization in New York and New Jersey have met serious roadblocks — and at almost exactly the same time. Just a few months ago, it had seemed all but certain in both states, with supportive governors backing progressive legalization poised to pass Democratic-controlled statehouses. Then, in the span of just a few days in late March, both states saw their efforts fall apart. Officials remain optimistic, but refuse to give a timetable for possible legalization.
As New Jersey’s leaders aim to pass a bill by the end of next month to legalize marijuana in the state, they’re grappling with a damned-if-they-do, damned-if-they-don’t dilemma that’s threatening their efforts.
After more than a year of debate and wrangling, Gov. Phil Murphy and his fellow top Democrats remain a few votes short of the number they need to pass the measure — a cornerstone of Murphy’s agenda — in the state Legislature.
It wasn't supposed to go down this way. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy made marijuana legalization a focal point for his administration, and surveys found that a majority of people in New Jersey supported legalization. But New Jersey lawmakers disagreed on the issue for a number of reasons, many of them revolving around the proposed law’s social justice component, and now the future of legalization in the Garden State is in question.
The state’s top three elected officials plan to meet Thursday in an effort to hammer out a legal cannabis bill, Gov. Phil Murphy said during Wednesday night’s “Ask Governor Murphy” program which aired jointly on the WNYC, WHYY and WBGO radio station.
Thursday’s meeting between Murphy, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin D-19th District, comes as the governor’s soft May deadline for a legalization bill fast approaches.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s latest plan to legalize recreational marijuana has until May to pass the legislature. If it doesn’t pass, Murphy will focus on expanding medical marijuana.
In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance, the governor said members of his administration are working with lawmakers to tweak the legislation that would legalize recreational weed, which up until now appeared dead. Expanding access to marijuana was one of Murphy’s 2017 gubernatorial campaign promises.
Last week, the New Jersey marijuana vote fell through, and legislators punted until the end of the year. But despite the negative outcome, we're still encouraged by what we saw.
The defeat was a significant blow to legalization advocates who hoped to put the Garden State at the forefront of the nation's legalization efforts – and create huge profits in the process.
Days after Gov. Phil Murphy shelved a plan to drastically expand the state’s existing medical marijuana program, the Democratic governor said he will give lawmakers until May to pass the contested legislation or he will resume his efforts on expanding access to medicinal cannabis.
“We’re not going to wait around a lot,” Murphy said at an unrelated event in Saddle Brook early March 28.