Some smoke shops are finding clever ways to illegally sell cannabis to customers.
Former New Jersey Attorney General Chris Porrino saw it firsthand while doing some field research. “What I’ve heard more about recently is, we’re charging this amount for the vape pipe or the bong, and it’s X amount dollars more than it otherwise would be. And the marijuana is a gift. The notion that that makes the illegal legal, it’s laughable,” Porrino said.
Yes We Cannabis!
Gurbir Grewal wants to reform NJ’s marijuana laws. He was set to issue new prosecution guidelines, a sort of decrim-light, when Jersey City prosecutor Jake Hudnut scooped him.
That delighted cannabis activists but frustrated the Attorney General who maintains the Jersey City model, no matter how instinctively pleasing to reformers, actually diminishes the discretion of law enforcement.
State officials are currently negotiating on a marijuana legalization bill that could be the most forward-thinking in the country, said Jake Hudnut, Chief Prosecutor in Jersey City, NJ. The bill, if signed into law, would mean the immediate release of inmates serving time for non-violent pot crimes.
The state attorney general's office will soon announce that it will not seek to extend a statewide adjournment of marijuana possession cases in municipal court when an order expires on Sept. 4th, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.
Instead, the attorney general's office will issue guidance to New Jersey's local, municipal and county prosecutors informing them that while marijuana possession remains illegal, they may exercise discretion and decide not to prosecute some simple possession cases.
Every city in America knows that it’s a bad idea to prosecute low-level, nonviolent marijuana offenses. It wastes scarce municipal resources and does nothing to enhance public safety. What’s more, even though whites and blacks use marijuana at similar rates, blacks are more harshly punished for it.
That’s why, on July 19, marijuana offenses were effectively decriminalized in Jersey City, New Jersey’s second most populous city.
On the same day New Jersey's attorney general announced an immediate adjournment of marijuana-related cases in municipal courts, people in the state's second-largest city appeared to welcome the news.
In Jersey City's Journal Square neighborhood Tuesday, a number of passersby shared their thoughts on the future of marijuana in the state just hours after New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal advised all local and county prosecutors to put a hold on marijuana-related offenses until Sept. 4.
Attorney General says decision buys time for working group to advise on prosecutorial authority and downgrading of charges. Directive does not extend to law enforcement
New Jersey won’t be prosecuting low-level marijuana cases for the next month, and possibly longer.
Grewal said he plans to convene a working group of criminal justice stakeholders to study the issue and advise him on possible solutions. He intends to issue a statewide directive by the end of next month concerning the scope and “appropriate use of prosecutorial discretion” in marijuana-related offenses in municipal court.
Grewal’s letter did not say if arrests for marijuana possession would also be put on hold, and authorities declined comment on that issue Tuesday.
New Jersey just quietly moved to decriminalize marijuana, at least for the rest of the summer.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has requested all municipal prosecutors adjourn all marijuana offenses until Sept. 4 as his office develops "appropriate guidance," according to NJ Advance Media.
Last week, Jersey City became the first New Jersey municipality to decriminalize low-level cannabis possession, but state officials immediately interceded to shut this new policy down. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and municipal prosecutor Jake Hudnut held a press conference last Thursday to announce that they were decriminalizing minor marijuana possession and use, effective immediately. The next day, NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal stepped in and announced that the new policy was void, as Hudnut did not have the legal authority to supercede state drug laws.