The state Legislature failed to send bills to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk before the Memorial Day weekend that would have set up an expungement process for cannabis-related criminal offenses and dramatically expand the state’s medical marijuana program.
Pennsylvania’s neighbors to the north and east were seemingly hot on the trail of legalizing marijuana and it didn’t go unnoticed by Gov. Tom Wolf.
The strong interest in legalizing recreational cannabis coming out of New York and New Jersey was cited as a reason why Wolf sent Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on a statewide listening tour to hear what Pennsylvanians thought of the idea.
The potential for a ballot question next year asking the public to decide whether or not to legalize recreational marijuana foreshadows huge spending by independent, outside groups.
Keep in mind that it was just three years ago that New Jersey had its most expensive ballot contest ever- a $25 million election in which voters balked at allowing casinos outside of Atlantic City.
A ballot initiative involving legalized marijuana also would surely invite millions of dollars of spending by special interests attempting to influence the people to support or oppose legalization.
Not legalizing cannabis jeopardizes related jobs
Like most college students, I often ask myself: Will my education be worth it?
So with expanded medical and adult-use marijuana legalization in New Jersey becoming a possibility, I enrolled in Stockton University’s cannabis studies program. One of only a few in the country, it prepares students to navigate the legal, social justice, health and economic impacts of cannabis. I’m also president of the Student Marijuana Alliance for Research and Transparency chapter on campus.
Sweeney partially blamed Murphy for jumping the gun on his intent to expand medical marijuana access. Sweeney apparently asked Murphy to hold off on that announcement.
“I reject being blamed for trying to help citizens out who have nowhere else to turn, whose lives are at stake or quality of life is a stake,” the governor said. “I wouldn’t call that blame. This is my responsibility as governor.”
Legalization a popular cause in state
According to a February poll conducted by Monmouth University, 62 percent of New Jerseyans believe that the possession and use of marijuana should be legal, and 74 percent support the expungement of past marijuana convictions.
Assembly and Senate lawmakers were initially expected to decide on the issue in March. However, plans for a Senate floor vote were pulled after it became apparent that the measure lacked majority support in the legislature’s upper house.
When the idea was advanced that New Jersey might become the region’s first legalized marijuana marketplace, one of the auxiliary benefits proposed was that it had potential to lift real estate markets that may have gone overlooked.
As businesses hurried to set up shop, a wave of real estate deals would be a boon for all, it was said.
Attorney Gene Markin said that excitement has been fast fading.
As for recreational pot, Sweeney has said he will now push for a voter referendum on the issue.
The move to a referendum makes sense. Recent polls have consistently shown the majority of Garden State voters support recreational weed. A Monmouth University poll in February showed 62 percent of New Jersey adults supported legalizing small amounts of recreational marijuana while just 32 percent opposed it. And of 10 states that have legalized recreational pot only Vermont did so without a referendum. However, voters in Ohio, Arizona and North Dakota have all rejected such measures.
But social equity has been both a sticking point and selling point this year in New York and New Jersey, among other states weighing whether to join the 10 that allow recreational use of pot.
Complicating the law-making process, sometimes even among supporters, are questions about how best to erase marijuana convictions and ensure that people who were arrested for pot benefit from legal marijuana markets.
A driving desire to steer control over a multi-billion dollar industry has forced politicians to withdraw marijuana legalization legislation in Trenton, but advocates from the ACLU-NJ and allies say they will redouble their efforts to pass a bill that places racial and social justice at the fore.
Entrepreneurs are watching for the billion-dollar marijuana industry to emerge if pot becomes legal, an economic opportunity unrivaled in modern Newe Jersey history. Politicians are hoping to capitalize on the action, which has gummed up the process of doing justice.