Given the title of the hearing, it is no surprise that the majority party witnesses focused mostly on how communities of color have been disproportionately targeted for arrest under cannabis prohibition, and how that has saddled a generation of young people of color with criminal records that impact their ability to secure gainful employment, access public assistance benefits, and obtain financial aid to attend college.
State Senator Rice released an op-ed on the 4th of July, in which he made a plea to his peers in the New Jersey State Legislature to prioritize decriminalization-
“We can make this happen and put our state at the vanguard of social justice in America. We can infuse our independence with a deeper level of freedom grounded in real justice for all. We can give the Fourth of July even greater meaning and let our fireworks reflect our own impossible formations of brilliance that make us one vibrant, colorful nation.”
One of the more complex issues confronting the latest wave of states looking to legalize cannabis, including New Jersey, is how to incorporate social justice efforts into legalization legislation. To date, 33 states have implemented medical cannabis programs and 10 states have legalized cannabis for recreational use. That number will soon rise to 11, as Illinois just became the first state where the legislature passed a bill legalizing both the possession and sale of cannabis, a designation most believed would go to New Jersey or New York.
The War on Drugs damaged communities that have been historically targeted by biased policing and racial profiling; it is time to right those wrongs
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.
Advocates say legalization elsewhere hasn't done enough to achieve those goals. Critics maintain legal pot is even accelerating inequality as the drug becomes big business for companies generally run by white men.
"We're at the stage of marijuana reform 2.0," said Douglas Berman, an Ohio State University law professor who follows marijuana policy. The conversation, he said, has shifted from just being about legalization to, "which track should we make sure we head down?"
Senator Ronald L. Rice today released the following statement regarding Senate President Steve Sweeney’s announcement to move forward with legislation that will expunge marijuana-related criminal records and expand New Jersey’s medical marijuana program.
Sources close to Patch say negotiations have slowed to a crawl since Gov. Phil Murphy's administration has been investigating whether corporations misused tax breaks in past years, including one company owned by Democratic powerbroker George Norcross, a close ally of Senate President Stephen Sweeney.
If marijuana legalization is going to happen, it needs both Sweeney and Murphy on the same page, scrambling to get the votes needed to pass the legislation. Read more: New Jersey Cancels Vote On Marijuana Legalization
In Albany, a legalization measure that once seemed as unstoppable as a locomotive ran completely off the rails. The push to include adult-use cannabis legalization in the New York Legislature’s 2019 state budget package officially died on Monday.
Recreational marijuana legalization is stalled in both New York and New Jersey—partly because some lawmakers of color say the proposals don’t go far enough in making certain that the communities hit hardest by arrests from illegal drugs aren’t locked out of the newly regulated weed industry.
Across the border in Massachusetts, experts and regulators say that New Yorkers are right to be worried.