After months of will-they-won’t-they activity, both New Jersey and New York failed to deliver on legalizing adult-use cannabis. What once seemed to be foregone conclusions to many turned out to be two hard doses of reality that leaves citizens and lawmakers with a foul taste in their mouths.
Instead of adult-use legalization, both have since pivoted to focus on expanding other cannabis parameters.
A wide variety of views _ and cautionary observations from both proponents and opponents _ marked the Bernards Township Committee's first public hearing to gain public input about what residents think about the possibility that the state might legalize recreational marijuana, and the already-approved loosening of medical marijuana distribution.
Mayor Carol Bianchi said the topic will come up for public hearing at a later date, and added the Township Committee might invite an expert on the subject to speak at a future meeting.
Due to the abject failure of this Democrat-led New Jersey legislature with the usual 19th century bullshit from useless Republicans, our government, thankfully, has punted the responsibility of legalizing marijuana to us, the citizens. Not sure deciding whether a plant is legal or not should necessarily fall to a vote, but that’s where we are now. You might recall, I called for this during this past spring’s implosion of the year-long marijuana bill (S2703). And so the matter will indeed move to the ballot in November of 2020.
State Senator Rice released an op-ed on the 4th of July, in which he made a plea to his peers in the New Jersey State Legislature to prioritize decriminalization-
“We can make this happen and put our state at the vanguard of social justice in America. We can infuse our independence with a deeper level of freedom grounded in real justice for all. We can give the Fourth of July even greater meaning and let our fireworks reflect our own impossible formations of brilliance that make us one vibrant, colorful nation.”
It’s doubtful that recreational marijuana will become legal in New Jersey anytime soon, with Senate President Steve Sweeney waving the white flag on passing cannabis legislation this year. The fractured Democratic Party in New Jersey is stemming from a fight between two people—George Norcross and Governor Phil Murphy—and not from two ideological points of view.
Even though legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis in New Jersey has stalled, there is still a vital tax issue that needs to be resolved. It is crucial that the state decouples from the federal law governing cannabis — Internal Revenue Code 280(E) — so that cannabis business owners will be able to deduct ordinary and necessary expenses in the same manner as their non-cannabis counterparts.
Recreational Marijuana Set for 2020
New Jersey decided to pause its efforts to legalize recreational cannabis in May 2019 after failing to secure enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill — a move that spurred a similar move in New York. Lawmakers instead plan to put the measure to vote during the 2020 general election in a move that would mirror that of many other states.
A cannabis forum is underway today at Kennedy Park.
Organizers say the goal of the forum is to educate the community and get rid of the stigma around cannabis products.
There are about 20 different vendors participating at the event.
Many vendors are handing out cannabis information and some are also selling their CBD products.
Ian Nugent, organizer of the Grassroots Cannabis Forum, says he's looking to reach out to families and skeptics.
As the New Jersey Legislature closed shop for summer recess, thoughts of what could have been on the marijuana legalization effort that stalled flitted among legislators and lawyers.
Why the weed bill failed this year was baffling. Many considered it a slam dunk in a state with a Democratic-controlled Legislature and a Democratic governor who not only supported the measure but made legalizing adult use of marijuana a centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign in 2017.
Hopes were thwarted recently when New Jersey lawmakers decided to shuttle adult-use cannabis legislation and instead potentially turn it over to voters in 2020. Leaders in Trenton should reconsider this short-sighted strategy and get to work. There is still an opportunity to get this done in the Statehouse. And while doing so, I urge our legislators to keep small, family-owned businesses top of mind.