But you may want to wait before you go out and buy that vape pen or box of EZ Wider papers. Holdouts, led by Newark’s Sen. Ron Rice, say legal weed will be a death knell to communities of color where drugs and crime have made economic development impossible.
“I’m still a no. Every day there is new information about why we shouldn’t do this,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “This is about money, it’s not about social justice. Why should we pass something that makes money for investors on the backs of black and brown people?”
While the parties are closer than ever to a deal on legalization of cannabis, it’s unlikely all the details – and ayes – will be nailed down for a vote on Feb. 21.
Governor Phil Murphy, State Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin have reportedly reached agreement on two major issues that have held up passage of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory and Expungement Aid Modernization Act (S2703), the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act (S10) and s3205, which revises certain procedures for expungement of records of conviction.
A Monmouth University poll finds more than 6 in 10 New Jersey residents support legalizing marijuana and half say a current proposal to make it happen is a good idea. This as legislators say they are closer to an agreement.
Pot? Or not?
The stalemate between Gov. Phil Murphy and other state leaders over marijuana appears to have been broken. The primary sponsor of the bill to legalize says they have reached a deal on how to tax and regulate the drug, CBS2’s Meg Baker reported Monday.
Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders have reached a broad agreement on a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey, according to four sources familiar with the negotiations.
“The consensus on the broad strokes is relatively fresh, so the details are still being worked out,” one source with direct knowledge of the talks told POLITICO.
State Sen. Nicholas Scutari played a key role in the negotiations, the source said. The Union County Democrat could not immediately be reached for comment Friday evening.
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.
Meanwhile, across the mighty Hudson in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy, who made marijuana legalization a big part of his gubernatorial campaign in 2017 (New Jersey governors are elected in odd numbered years), renewed his call for legalization in his State of the State speech.
“By legalizing adult-use marijuana — first and foremost — we can reverse the inequality and unfairness left from years of failed drug policies and shift public safety resources to where they can do the most good,” he said.
To promote public trust, private investment and market stability, we need to create a system of accountability, adaptability and full transparency.
In the ’70s, Gov. Brendan Byrne established the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. The five-member commission brought autonomous regulatory oversight to the gambling industry. The authority of licensing and regulation was vested with the five commissioners and allowed the industry to adjust and operate fluently and efficiently.
And for the faint of heart, it's easy to find a place to hide when so many sloppy arguments are flying around in defense of the status quo.
More car crashes, if you twist the data so hard it screams. Children lured into the abyss, as if they don't have access to weed today. Edibles that dangerously turbo-charge the high, as if it's impossible to mark the dosage.
New Jersey moved closer to becoming the 11th U.S. state to legalize recreational marijuana use after legislative committees approved bills to end the prohibition and wipe out the criminal records of some drug offenders.
The votes were a historic first for New Jersey as lawmakers moved closer to making the sale and use of marijuana legal. But the fight for those on both sides of the legalization debate is not over.
What happens now is that Democrats who control the Legislature need to pass the bills related to legal weed in the Senate and Assembly, where it is not clear if supporters have enough votes to make that happen.