New Jersey has halted training state police dogs to sniff out pot.
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told lawmakers Thursday that a pending proposal to legalize recreational marijuana led police to stop training them to detect the odor of burnt cannabis.
He says dogs already trained to detect the scent could be used in other settings where marijuana would be prohibited such as jails and schools. He added that it's possible to train the dogs to detect marijuana in the future if needed, but it's impossible to "un-train" dogs who already recognize the odor.
Fortunately for New Jersey, we now have a 21st century governor who wears Allbirds shoes, uses social media and is totally comfortable texting constituents. Despite an old-thinking legislature, Governor Phil Murphy keeps pushing his agenda that recognizes the need to increase the state’s tax revenue and finally do something about mass transit and the state’s crumbling infrastructure.
To anyone who figured the path of legalizing recreational marijuana use ran along blue state-red state lines, a sudden setback for cannabis advocates in New Jersey may show the issue isn't so black-and-white.
A vote expected to come as early as March 25 could be a case of “light up” or “lights out” for a landmark bill that aims to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use across the state of New Jersey.
The state legislature is on the brink of this historic vote after the bill was approved by two legislative committees Monday, though local state Sens. Vin Gopal (D-11) and Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) are split on whether it has enough support pass.
If the bill does not pass, it could set the legalization effort back months.
As state lawmakers try to figure out the next steps on a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, some Cranbury officials are making a stand against the legislation.
In 2018, the Township Committee adopted an ordinance that prohibited the recreational sale of marijuana in town, in an effort to stay a step ahead of the state legislature and executive branch.
The bills were pulled from a vote in the New Jersey State Senate on March 25 for lack of enough votes to pass it.
The Tri-state battle over recreational weed began in 2017, when New Jersey voted in Governor Phil Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs higher-up who defeated his predecessor Chris Christie's lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, by vowing to fight against Donald Trump's policies, raise the minimum wage to $15, and legalize recreational marijuana as soon as possible. All within the first 100 days, he assured everybody.
Marijuana legalization activists across the country are holding their breath with every stop and start in the push to legalize weed in the Garden State.
And it's not just because of their hopes that New Jersey becomes a billion-dollar linchpin in the tristate area.
New Jersey lawmakers postponed a vote on Monday that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state, but advocates, including New Jersey CannaBusiness Association President Scott Rudder, told Cheddar the decision are calling it a “temporary setback.”
“The concerns yesterday were [that] we need more time. It’s a 177 page document that's going to end 81 years of prohibition and establish an industry in its place. That necessarily takes time," said Rudder, who is also a lobbyist at Burton Trent.
Township leaders would support another ban on the sale and distribution of marijuana in town should the need for such a vote occur again.
The state Legislature canceled a vote on statewide marijuana legalization on Monday.
The Township Committee unanimously adopted an ordinance prohibiting the sale of recreational marijuana in town.
Township Committeeman Rudy Boonstra "wholeheartedly" supported the decision.
"I would support another similar action should it become necessary," Boonstra said.
Governor Phil Murphy had been working to legalize recreational marijuana in the state of New Jersey for over a year. Why couldn't he pull it off?