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.
Yesterday was supposed to be a big marijuana day in Trenton. It wasn’t. Legalization is headed to the ballot next year. Decriminalization is off the table for now.
Here’s a smattering of reaction from an underwhelming day when only one cannabis bill inched forward, A10, to improve NJ’s ghastly medical cannabis program. Assemblyman Jamel Holley invited InsiderNJ to press the YES button. (see pic)
Sips Tea
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.
The Assembly got rolling (no pun intended) on marijuana bills yesterday, with the Appropriations Committee approving two huge bills: One to vastly expand medical marijuana, and one to decriminalize possession of up to two ounces.
An effort to decriminalize marijuana proposed after the state's failed attempt at outright marijuana legalization doesn't have the support of the Legislature's top Democrat.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney on Tuesday called the measure, which would significantly lessen penalties for possessing the drug, "problematic" and likened it to legalizing the marijuana black market.
The truth is New Jersey should have legalized recreational marijuana a long time ago. Gov. Phil Murphy said during his campaign that he was going to make legalization one of his top priorities during his first 100 days in office. It was a move that Senate President Stephen Sweeney believed could be squared up by April of last year, allowing recreational sales to begin in 2019.
But lawmakers were never able to come to terms.
New Jersey lawmakers advanced legislation Monday expanding the state’s medical marijuana program and making it easier for certain convicts to clear their records.
Democrat-led Assembly and Senate committees advanced the measures, with votes in each chamber coming as early as this week.
Monday’s votes come days after Senate President Steve Sweeney said a bill legalizing cannabis for adults 21 and older didn’t have enough support to pass and he instead would pursue a 2020 referendum.
The Assembly version of the expungement legislation would allow individuals with prior convictions for using, possessing or distributing cannabis to petition the courts to get their records cleared. A version of the expungement legislation that began circulating on Friday had decriminalization language attached to it, but the Assembly Judiciary Committee stripped the provision from the bill during its own consideration and pulled the expungement legislation from its agenda entirely.
On the statewide scene, cannabis advocates had New York and New Jersey pegged as the great green hope. Both states were expected to become the next to legalize marijuana for recreational use. It was a step that would have shown the country, specifically the goons in Congress, just how far the U.S. has progressed from the times when weed was considered mostly taboo. However, all hope of this happening has gone to the proverbial crap shack, according to the New York Times. Both jurisdictions have essentially thrown in the towel on the prospect of legal weed.