Legislative leaders and Gov. Phil Murphy may be nearing a deal on marijuana legalization, State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) told the New Jersey Globe Thursday.
“There’s a possibility that we have an agreement by next week,” Scutari said.
Legal weed in Hoboken, medical marijuana and a possible cannabis improvement district will be among the topics at a public forum on Thursday, Feb. 7.
Hoboken Councilman Mike DeFusco is spearheading the "community discussion on medicinal marijuana," which will include updates on the city's tabled recreational marijuana ordinance and the prospect of having dispensaries in the Mile Square City.
Five key statewide leaders—representing advocates and opponents—offered a range of opinions on the future legalization of marijuana in New Jersey, while highlighting the uncertainties of what such legalization may bring at a luncheon forum Jan. 25 in Hackensack.
The leaders from politics, civil liberties, law enforcement, banking and the cannabis industry covered most aspects roiling a legislative and social debate over legalization and left over 100 attendees at Bergen Volunteer Center’s Fifth Friday luncheon at Stony Hill Inn with many lingering questions and concerns.
The debate in New Jersey over how and when cannabis could or should be legalized continues to take place in Trenton. Earlier this year, sentiment began to grow for the first time that if progress was not made, legalization could potentially be turned over to a ballot question. Cannabis could still be legalized through a ballot question, but that would be a more complicated legislative process that would be delayed until possibly 2020.
Often forgotten in the rush to expand the cannabis industry is the environmental impact of indoor cultivation operations and environmental considerations for the engineering and design of cultivation facilities. This article will briefly address environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation, specifically energy usage, in various states and how cultivators looking to the emerging New Jersey market can better equip themselves for potential regulation similar to what is being seen in other states.
The bill fails “to define acute intoxication, which, in accord with precedent from the New Jersey Supreme Court, gives broad discretion to law enforcement to determine cannabis intoxication in the absence of scientific-based proof.”
How is a cannabis business different than say a bakery when it comes to building an operation?
Beyond the obvious – cannabis, although legal on the medicinal level in New Jersey and for adult use in other states, is still a Schedule 1 drug federally – it’s also the basic elements of establishing a business. Such as getting a loan or insurance.
New Jersey may be falling behind other states in its efforts to legalize marijuana. Brian Thompson reports.
Korin Neff is a compliance consultant working throughout the United States through a firm she founded and leads, Opinari Compliance Solutions LLC. Neff started her work in the emerging cannabis market of New Jersey and has expanded from there.
A full legalization bill in the works in the state legislature will not receive the support of at least two mayors if the final legislation doesn’t provide for the expungements of possession and distribution of up to 50 grams of cannabis, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) said.
Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop (D) said at a press conference that they would exercise their municipal authority and ban dispensaries from operating in their cities if they aren’t satisfied with expungement language in legalization legislation.