Law New Jersey

[momofthegoons]

New Jersey Governor Works To Get Out The Vote For Marijuana Legalization Referendum​

The governor of New Jersey is amplifying his support for a marijuana legalization referendum that will appear on the state’s November ballot.

In an email blast sent by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee on Wednesday, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) wrote that legalization was a priority of his as he campaigned for governor, and he emphasized racial disparities in cannabis enforcement.

“Legalization would right those wrongs while also spurring massive economic development opportunities, job creation, and new tax revenue,” he said. “Now, we have the opportunity to get this done and finally legalize adult-use marijuana here in the Garden State, and I need your help to make it happen. Vote Yes on Public Question #1 on your ballot.”



“It has taken longer than we hoped to get to this point. Many well-meaning leaders have their reasons for opposing legalization, and we take their objections seriously,” he added. “But the overwhelming evidence points to a clear reality that this is something we must do to make our state both stronger and fairer.”

Murphy also wrote about the economic toll of enforcing prohibition, the long-lasting consequences of having a marijuana conviction on a person’s record and the fact that a growing number of states are legalizing cannabis for adult use.

“Voting Yes on Public Question #1 will legalize marijuana for adult use, while also creating a new regulatory structure to make sure operators are following the law and ensure that minors are not able to purchase the product. Legalization will not be the end of the story—there is more work to do, particularly in expunging past marijuana-related offenses. This is our chance to make history in New Jersey, and it’s all up to you.”

The governor said in July that legalizing cannabis is “an incredibly smart thing to do” both from an economic and social justice perspective.

Legislators attempted to enact the policy change during the last session, but when negotiations stalled, they opted to put the question to voters in the form of a referendum. If the measure is approved on Election Day, the legislature will then have to pass implementing legislation containing details for how the legal cannabis market will work.

Recent polling indicates that the proposal has strong support among New Jersey voters. A survey from the law firm Brach Eichler that was released last week shows that 65 percent of likely voters are in favor of the policy change. That’s consistent with the results of a poll the firm published last month, signaling that support is steady.

The governor’s message to voters comes one week after NJ CAN 2020, a coalition of civil rights and drug policy reform groups, launched their first video ad promoting the legalization referendum.

In June, the state Assembly passed a cannabis decriminalization bill last month that would make possession of up to two ounces a civil penalty without the threat of jail time.

Read Murphy’s full email in support of approving the legalization measure below:

When I first announced my campaign for Governor, legalizing adult-use marijuana was one of my top priorities. It was as clear then as it is now — marijuana prohibition causes serious, lasting damage to our state, especially to the 35,000 mostly young, Black and Hispanic residents who are arrested for possession of marijuana every year. In fact, Black residents are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than White residents. Legalization would right those wrongs while also spurring massive economic development opportunities, job creation, and new tax revenue.

Now, we have the opportunity to get this done and finally legalize adult-use marijuana here in the Garden State, and I need your help to make it happen. Vote Yes on Public Question #1 on your ballot.

It has taken longer than we hoped to get to this point. Many well-meaning leaders have their reasons for opposing legalization, and we take their objections seriously. But the overwhelming evidence points to a clear reality that this is something we must do to make our state both stronger and fairer. Consider for example:

New Jersey spends about $147 million a year on the legal processing of marijuana possession and makes 35,000 annual arrests. Using our public safety dollars for marijuana arrests doesn’t make us any safer. By legalizing adult-use marijuana, we can free up police resources to focus on serious, violent and unsolved crimes, and reinvest those saved dollars into social services.

Our current marijuana laws can ruin lives based on one decision. Under current law, a person can land in jail over marijuana – with a criminal record that stigmatizes them for life and can make it harder to get a job, an apartment or a credit card; to adopt a child; or to visit one’s own children. Legalization has the potential to remove unfairly harsh punishments now suffered by entire families due to marijuana offenses.

Over the past decade, 11 other states and Washington, DC have all legalized adult-use marijuana. These states have not faced significant health or safety problems, have raised billions of dollars for vital public services, and have been able to focus law enforcement on more serious and violent crimes. We know that marijuana legalization works – and passing this ballot measure will allow New Jersey to take advantage of everything that we’ve learned from the states that went before us.

Voting Yes on Public Question #1 will legalize marijuana for adult use, while also creating a new regulatory structure to make sure operators are following the law and ensure that minors are not able to purchase the product. Legalization will not be the end of the story — there is more work to do, particularly in expunging past marijuana-related offenses.

This is our chance to make history in New Jersey, and it’s all up to you. Vote Yes on Public Question #1. You may need to turn over your Vote by Mail ballot or flip to the second page to find Public Questions, so make sure to examine your ballot carefully.

Thank you,

Phil Murphy

 

[momofthegoons]

​

New Jersey Governor Promotes Marijuana Legalization Referendum In New Ad​

In case he hasn’t made it abundantly clear already, the governor of New Jersey wants residents to vote in favor of a referendum to legalize marijuana this November.

In his latest call-to-action, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) recorded a video that was released on Tuesday by the pro-legalization coalition NJ CAN 2020 to promote the measure.

The governor made the case that the ongoing criminalization of cannabis in New Jersey wastes taxpayer dollars, and he emphasized that prohibition is enforced in a racially disproportionate manner.

“$150 million. That’s what processing marijuana arrests costs New Jersey taxpayers every year—arrests that disproportionately impact young people of color and make it harder for them to get a job, a place to live, even a credit card,” Murphy said. “Join me in correcting this wrong by voting ‘yes’ on Public Question Number One to legalize and regulate adult-use marijuana.”




“Eleven states and Washington, D.C. are already reaping the benefits of the job creation, economic development and, importantly, social justice reform that comes with legalization and regulation,” he added. “It’s time for us in New Jersey to join them. And it’s up to you to make it happen.”

Murphy also flagged for voters that the legalization referendum may be on the back side of their ballot and that they should make sure they don’t inadvertently skip it.

“Marijuana prohibition and the unjust penalties associated with it have done real damage to New Jersey’s black and brown communities,” he said. “Let’s fix it and turn the page on prohibition and on your ballot.”



Murphy, who said in a recent interview that the marijuana reform proposal prioritizes social justice, will also be a featured speaker at a virtual fundraiser on Thursday that’s being organized by NJ CAN 2020.

“I wish we could have gotten it done through a legislative process,” he said in the Sunday TV appearance, referencing lawmakers’ inability to advance a legalization bill last session. “We just couldn’t find the last few votes, so it’s on the referendum. I’m strongly supporting it—first and foremost for social justice reasons.”



Last week, Murphy similarly called on voters to support the proposal in an email blast that was circulated by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.

“Legalization would right those wrongs while also spurring massive economic development opportunities, job creation, and new tax revenue,” the governor wrote. “Now, we have the opportunity to get this done and finally legalize adult-use marijuana here in the Garden State, and I need your help to make it happen.”

He said in July that legalizing cannabis is “an incredibly smart thing to do” both from an economic and social justice perspective.



The governor isn’t alone in his attempts to get out the vote for cannabis reform. Filmmaker Kevin Smith last week urged his Twitter followers to “VOTE YES when you see State Public Question Number 1: Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Marijuana.”

Legislators attempted to enact the policy change during the last session, but when negotiations stalled, they opted to put the question to voters in the form of a referendum. If the measure is approved on Election Day, the legislature will then have to pass implementing legislation containing details for how the legal cannabis market will work.

Recent polling indicates that the proposal has strong support among New Jersey voters. A survey from the law firm Brach Eichler that was released last month shows that 65 percent of likely voters are in favor of the policy change. That’s consistent with the results of a poll the firm published in August, signaling that support is steady.

NJ CAN 2020, a coalition of civil rights and drug policy reform groups, launched their first video ad promoting the legalization referendum last month as well.

In June, the state Assembly passed a cannabis decriminalization bill that would make possession of up to two ounces a civil penalty without the threat of jail time, though it hasn’t advance in the Senate.

 

[Baron23]

Poll reveals New Jersey likely to legalize cannabis on November 3​

With just 21 days till voters in New Jersey get to decide on whether to legalize recreational marijuana in their state, a majority of them appear to be in favor of the measure, according to a new poll.
Released last week by Fairleigh Dickinson University, the poll was conducted from September 30 through October 5 and included 582 randomly selected likely voters in the Garden State. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said that they support legalization, while only 29% said they will vote against the measure.



Among Democrats, 71% of those contacted said they will vote yes on November 3. On the other hand, the percentage of Republicans that would support legalization was reported at 52%.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has made cannabis legalization a policy priority of his, but previous attempts to legalize cannabis via the state legislature have proven unsuccessful. Voters will instead decide on the matter on Election Day, when the country either re-elects President Donald Trump or chooses his opponent Joe Biden to lead the U.S for the next four years.
Recently, Murphy released a pro-legalization video, in which the governor urged New Jersey voters to end prohibition, underscoring that it costs taxpayers $150 million every year.

“$150 million. That’s what processing marijuana arrests costs New Jersey taxpayers every year – arrests that disproportionately impact young people of color and make it harder for them to get a job, a place to live, even a credit card. Join me in correcting this wrong by voting ‘yes’ on Public Question Number One to legalize and regulate adult-use marijuana,” Murphy said in his video.

Given that the neighboring states of New York and Pennsylvania still haven’t legalized weed, sales in New Jersey are expected to skyrocket if the measure passes. An estimate released by Marijuana Business Daily last year predicts the legal recreational cannabis market in New Jersey could be worth between $1.2 and $1.5 billion in annual retail sales by 2023.
The November 3 ballot will ask voters: “Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called ‘cannabis’?”
If voters commit to legalization this November, all adults aged 21 and over will be able to legally purchase marijuana in New Jersey. A sales tax of 6.625% will be imposed on cannabis products, while a local sales tax of an additional 2% will also be possible under the initiative.

 

[momofthegoons]

Key New Jersey Senate Committee Cancels Marijuana Legalization Hearing On Implementing Referendum​

A New Jersey Senate committee announced on Wednesday that it would be taking public testimony on Thursday about how to implement marijuana legalization if voters approve the reform referendum next month—but the panel canceled the event later in the day.

While the legislature decided to leave adult-use legalization up to voters as a ballot measure, legislators must still develop regulations to enact the system—and the temporarily scheduled hearing appeared to be a first step in that process.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was set to “receive public testimony concerning the legislative implementation of Public Question No. 1 on the General Election ballot, which, if approved, would legalize cannabis for personal, non-medical use by adults age 21 years or older,” a notice stated. “Public Question No. 1 would also create a legalized cannabis marketplace overseen by the State’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission.”

Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D), who chairs the committee and previously introduced a legalization bill that did not advance to a floor vote, said earlier this month that he’s been working in recent weeks with the governor’s office and legislative leaders to finalize a detailed enabling bill to implement legal market regulations.

He said the measure, which could be enacted as soon as the first week of November, would look similar to a bill he previously introduced, though he wants to add a retroactive provision to end cannabis-related prosecutions for pending cases.

“This is something about social justice. This is an economic opportunity for New Jersey,” the senator said at the time. “We can be the first state in the Northeast—absent Massachusetts, but in our economic area—to move forward and I want to be a leader in this.”

The committee had invited people to submit testimony for the hearing by emailing it to OLSAideSJU@njleg.org.

A staffer with the Office of Legislative Services told Marijuana Moment in an email that “the public hearing scheduled for October, 22, 2020 at 9:30 am has been canceled” and said it was “unknown” if the event will be rescheduled.

In any case, if polling is any indication, it appears that voters are poised to pass the cannabis referendum on their ballots next month.

A survey released on Tuesday found that that 65 percent of New Jersey voters are in favor of the marijuana referendum. Just 29 percent are opposed to the policy change and six percent remain undecided.

The results are statistically consistent with three prior polls from the same firm, as well as one from Fairleigh Dickinson University, which similarly found roughly two to one support for the measure. A separate survey released last week by Stockton University showed three to one support for legalizing cannabis among New Jersey voters.

For his part, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has been actively campaigning in favor of the referendum, participating in fundraisers and ads to encourage voters to approve it.

For example, the governor recorded a video that was released by NJ CAN 2020 earlier this month, outlining why he’s embraced the policy change. Murphy said that the ongoing criminalization of cannabis in New Jersey wastes taxpayer dollars, and he emphasized that prohibition is enforced in a racially disproportionate manner.

The governor similarly said in a recent interview that the marijuana reform proposal prioritizes social justice.

“I wish we could have gotten it done through a legislative process,” he said at the time, referencing lawmakers’ inability to advance a legalization bill last session. “We just couldn’t find the last few votes, so it’s on the referendum. I’m strongly supporting it—first and foremost for social justice reasons.”

Murphy also recently called on voters to support the proposal in an email blast that was circulated by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.

He said in July that legalizing cannabis is “an incredibly smart thing to do” both from an economic and social justice perspective.

The governor isn’t alone in his attempts to get out the vote for cannabis reform. Filmmaker Kevin Smith earlier this month urged his Twitter followers to “VOTE YES when you see State Public Question Number 1: Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Marijuana.”

NJ CAN 2020, one of two campaign committees working to pass the cannabis referendum, released a series of English- and Spanish-language video ads last week, after having published one prior ad. Meanwhile, campaign finance records compiled show that legal marijuana supporters are out-raising opponents by a ratio of nearly 130:1.

In June, the state Assembly passed a cannabis decriminalization bill that would make possession of up to two ounces a civil penalty without the threat of jail time, though it hasn’t advance in the Senate.

This story was updated to reflect the hearing’s cancellation.

 

[momofthegoons]

New Jersey Lawmakers Approve Bill Providing Medical Marijuana Patient Insurance Benefits​

Employment insurance benefits would be extended to cover the costs of medical marijuana for registered patients in New Jersey under a bill that cleared an Assembly committee on Monday.

While medical cannabis has been legal in New Jersey since 2010, nothing in current state statute currently stipulates that costs associated with the medication must be covered via workers’ compensation or personal injury protection (PIP). That would change under legislation sponsored by Assemblymembers John Burzichelli (D), Herb Conaway (D) and Joann Downey (D).

“Many workers’ compensation insurance companies and PIPs are still hesitant to cover medical cannabis or have an outright policy of denying it,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “People injured and receiving coverage through PIP or worker’s comp can come away from a doctor’s appointment with a prescription for medical marijuana; however, it is not definite that their healthcare plan will cover it or reimburse them for the costs.”

“The dispensing of medical cannabis is, in part, considered an important piece in the national effort to combat the opioid crisis. Medical cannabis is seen as an effective pain treatment option that is cheaper, less addictive than opioids, and often preferred to prescribe to patients over opioids. A patient and their doctor should have every option available to make the best decisions for their care; and, medical cannabis as an option growing in demand, health insurance plans—including worker’s comp and PIP—should cover its costs too.”

The bill advanced through the Assembly Appropriations Committee in a 7-4 vote.

Text of the legislation states that “an employer or workers’ compensation insurance carrier or private passenger automobile insurance carrier shall provide coverage for costs associated with the medical use of marijuana.”

In another workplace cannabis development in New Jersey earlier this year, a former Amazon warehouse worker and medical marijuana patient who was fired over a positive THC test secured a procedural victory by a federal judge in April. The court granted his request for a motion to remand, kicking his case to the state Superior Court for consideration—rather than a federal U.S. District Court—where he stands a better chance of prevailing.

The passage of the reform bill in the Assembly committee comes one week before New Jersey residents are set to vote on a referendum to legalize cannabis for adult use. A committee was set to hold a public hearing on the measure last week, but it was cancelled shortly after being announced.

Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D), who chairs that panel and previously introduced a legalization bill that did not advance to a floor vote, said earlier this month that he’s been working in recent weeks with the governor’s office and legislative leaders to finalize a detailed enabling bill to implement legal market regulations.

He said the measure, which could be passed as soon as the first week of November, would look similar to a bill he previously introduced, though he wants to add a retroactive provision to end cannabis-related prosecutions for pending cases.

If polling is any indication, it appears that voters are poised to pass the cannabis referendum on their ballots next month.

A survey released last week found that that 65 percent of New Jersey voters are in favor of the marijuana referendum. Just 29 percent are opposed to the policy change and six percent remain undecided.

The results are statistically consistent with three prior polls from the same firm, as well as one from Fairleigh Dickinson University, which similarly found roughly two to one support for the measure. A separate survey released earlier this month by Stockton University showed three to one support for legalizing cannabis among New Jersey voters.

Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has been actively campaigning in favor of the referendum, participating in fundraisers and ads to encourage voters to approve it.

He recorded a video that was released by NJ CAN 2020 earlier this month, outlining why he’s embraced the policy change. Murphy said that the ongoing criminalization of cannabis in New Jersey wastes taxpayer dollars, and he emphasized that prohibition is enforced in a racially disproportionate manner.

The governor similarly said in a recent interview that the marijuana reform proposal prioritizes social justice.

Murphy also recently called on voters to support the proposal in an email blast that was circulated by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.

He said in July that legalizing cannabis is “an incredibly smart thing to do” both from an economic and social justice perspective.

The governor isn’t alone in his attempts to get out the vote for cannabis reform. Filmmaker Kevin Smith earlier this month urged his Twitter followers to “VOTE YES when you see State Public Question Number 1: Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Marijuana.”

NJ CAN 2020, one of two campaign committees working to pass the cannabis referendum, recently released a series of English- and Spanish-language video ads, after having published one prior ad. Meanwhile, campaign finance records compiled show that legal marijuana supporters are out-raising opponents by a ratio of nearly 130:1.

In June, the state Assembly passed a cannabis decriminalization bill that would make possession of up to two ounces a civil penalty without the threat of jail time, though it hasn’t advance in the Senate.

 

[momofthegoons]

New Jersey Governor Steps Up Marijuana Legalization Push As New Ad Touts Economic Benefits Days Before Election​

With just a few days to go before Election Day, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is continuing to stump for marijuana legalization in that state, extolling the economic and social justice benefits he says the change would bring. His latest comments came shortly after the release of a new campaign ad focusing on legalization’s economic impact.

“We’ll build an industry, it would be a revenue-generator,” Murphy said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “I think at first it would be modest, but ultimately will grow, I think, into several hundred million dollars in the state budget.”

“Along with social justice,” he added, “that’s a pretty good, winning combination.”

Recent polling suggests voters are mostly on board with legalization, with surveys showing upwards of 60% support for Public Question 1, a referendum to legalize and establish a commercial industry around the drug. If it passes, some lawmakers hope legal sales to adults 21 and older could begin as soon as next month, though regulators and some advocates have pushed back on the plan to start sales in existing medical cannabis dispensaries, saying that it could lead to access and supply issues for patients.

Legalization would indeed likely bring in millions of dollars to the state budget, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic downturn. But Murphy claims his chief motivation for supporting the measure is racial justice.

“When I became governor, we had the widest white–nonwhite gap of persons incarcerated, believe it or not, of any American state. The biggest reason was low-end drug offenses,” he said. “So I get there first and foremost because of social justice.”

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, one of the campaign committees behind New Jersey’s legalization effort, NJ CAN 2020, released a new 30-second ad emphasizing the economic benefits legalization could bring the cash-strapped state.

“At a time when this crisis has created challenges we all face—a budget deficit and a lack of funding for services we need—New Jersey could raise hundreds of millions of dollars to support our local schools, vital health care services and community programs, by simply voting yes on Public Question 1,” the ad says.



Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) also filmed a video in support of the measure. Appearing in a NJ CAN campaign video released Wednesday, he said prohibition “has not been a war on drugs, but a war on people.”

“Veterans, for example, are more likely to be arrested for drug use or possession of marijuana. Instead of getting help, they’re often hurt by a system that piles upon them criminal charges for doing things that two of the last three presidents admitted to doing,” he said.

Black, Latino and low-income communities are also disproportionately targeted by enforcement of drug laws, Booker added. “We can do this as a state so much more responsibly, and instead of destroying lives we can get more resources to help to empower the well-being of all New Jerseyans.”

In other legal states, cannabis has been a rare bright spot in terms of tax revenue. Oregon, for example, saw record sales this summer even as other areas of the economy slowed. State budget analysts said last month that they expect the strong sales to continue.

“Since the pandemic began, the increase in recreational sales have been more than 30 percent above forecast,” Oregon’s Office of Economic Analysis said in a recent report. “Expectations are that some of these increases will be permanent.”

Other established markets, such as Washington state, Colorado and Nevada, have also seen “strong gains” in marijuana sales amid the pandemic, Oregon’s budget office noted.

Big money has also been flowing into New Jersey’s legalization campaign itself. A report released Thursday by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) shows that committees supporting the referendum have raised more than $2 million in campaign contributions. That’s compared to just $9,913 brought in by opponents.

“Assuming all available funds are spent, the marijuana ballot question already ranks eighth among the top ten most expensive public referenda in the Garden State,” ELEC Executive Director Jeff Brindle said. “Keep in mind that marijuana interests already have spent $4.1 million on lobbying between 2017 and 2019. So the industry’s overall political investment in New Jersey already has topped $6 million.”

If voters approve the referendum, lawmakers will still need to pass a bill to establish a framework for the state’s legal marijuana market. A legislative hearing to get a head start on planning was scheduled for last week, but that was canceled when a state senator leading the proposal went into quarantine after being exposed to the coronavirus.

Friday’s appearance by Murphy is the latest effort by the governor to encourage voters to back legalization. He also recorded a video that was released by NJ CAN 2020 earlier this month and recently called on voters to support the proposal in an email blast circulated by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.

In July, Murphy described legalizing cannabis is “an incredibly smart thing to do” both from an economic and social justice perspective.

The governor isn’t alone in his attempts to get out the vote for cannabis reform. Filmmaker Kevin Smith earlier this month urged his Twitter followers to “VOTE YES when you see State Public Question Number 1: Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Marijuana.”

Also this month, the NJ CAN campaign scaled up its advertising push, releasing a series of English- and Spanish-language videos.

In June, the state Assembly passed a cannabis decriminalization bill that would make possession of up to two ounces of marijuana a civil penalty without the threat of jail time. The bill hasn’t advanced in the Senate.

 

[momofthegoons]

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Bill To Establish Marijuana Market Could Come Two Days After New Jersey Legalization Vote, Top Senator Says​

If New Jersey voters approve a marijuana legalization referendum on Tuesday, a top state senator says he will introduce a bill to set up the adult-use cannabis market as early as Thursday.

In an interview with Politico on Monday, Sen. Nick Scutari (D) said he’s been hard at work drafting enabling legislation with the expectation that the measure will pass. Recent polling certainly signals as much.

The bill will be filed “hopefully by the end of the week, Thursday or next Monday,” he said.

While there are few details about what the legislation will entail, it’s expected to largely reflect a legalization bill that Scutari previously introduced. That proposal did not advance through the legislature, however, leading lawmakers to put the question of legalizing cannabis before voters as a referendum.

But the measure on the ballot simply asks voters whether they approve of the policy change. It does not contain the numerous provisions necessary to establish a regulated marijuana market in the state. That will still be up to lawmakers, and Scutari is not wasting any time.

He said he’s been “reading, writing, taking input from advocacy groups, [and] advocates,” including in virtual Zoom meetings.

Scutari: Enabling bill on cannabis legalization could be introduced by Thursday https://t.co/eBFthRnDLQ
— POLITICO Pro (@POLITICOPro) November 2, 2020

Last month he floated the idea of allowing the state’s existing medical cannabis dispensaries to sell marijuana products to adult consumers within weeks of the referendum vote.

“I think one of the most important things is to allow people to buy legal cannabis immediately,” Scutari, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said.

However, the plan was shut down by a top regulator who said they would not be able to meet the increased demand from recreational consumers while still serving patients.

Scutari’s panel was also supposed to hold a hearing last month to gather public input on crafting marijuana regulations, but it was cancelled after he went into quarantine following exposure to coronavirus.

While there are still open questions about what enabling legislation will ultimately look like, there are few doubts that voters will approve the referendum based on polling.

A survey released last month found that 65 percent of New Jersey voters are in favor of the reform proposal, with 29 percent opposed and six percent undecided.

Those results are statistically consistent with the prior three polls from the same firm, as well as one from Fairleigh Dickinson University, which similarly found roughly two-to-one support for the measure. A separate survey released by Stockton University showed three-to-one support for legalizing cannabis among New Jersey voters.

Pro-legalization advocates have benefited from funding and key endorsements in the weeks leading up to the election.

For example, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) spoke in favor of the referendum in an ad released by the NJ CAN 2020 last month.

“I hope as you fill out the front of your ballot, you will look at the back and see that question, ballot question number one, and that you will vote to legalize marijuana in New Jersey for adult use,” he said. “We can do this as a state so much more responsibly, and instead of destroying lives we can get more resources to help to empower the well-being of all New Jerseyans.”

That ad came out just as campaign finance data released by the state showed that supporters of the cannabis reform measure were outraising opponents by a 200-to-1 ratio.

Earlier numbers released two weeks earlier pegged the fundraising disparity at a ratio of nearly 130 to 1.

But arguably the most vocal public figure advocating for a ‘yes’ vote is Gov. Phil Murphy (D).

In a recent interview, the governor said that the state will “build an industry, it would be a revenue-generator.”

“I think at first it would be modest, but ultimately will grow, I think, into several hundred million dollars in the state budget,” he said. “Along with social justice, that’s a pretty good, winning combination.”

He also recorded a video that was released by NJ CAN 2020 last month, outlining why he’s embraced the policy change. Murphy said that the ongoing criminalization of cannabis in New Jersey wastes taxpayer dollars, and he emphasized that prohibition is enforced in a racially disproportionate manner.

The governor similarly said in a recent interview that the marijuana reform proposal prioritizes social justice.

“I wish we could have gotten it done through a legislative process,” he said at the time, referencing lawmakers’ inability to advance a legalization bill last session. “We just couldn’t find the last few votes, so it’s on the referendum. I’m strongly supporting it—first and foremost for social justice reasons.”

Murphy also recently called on voters to support the proposal in an email blast that was circulated by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.

He said in July that legalizing cannabis is “an incredibly smart thing to do” both from an economic and social justice perspective.

The governor isn’t alone in his attempts to get out the vote for cannabis reform. Filmmaker Kevin Smith last month urged his Twitter followers to “VOTE YES when you see State Public Question Number 1: Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Marijuana.”

NJ CAN 2020 released a series of English- and Spanish-language video ads last month, after having published one prior ad. The campaign’s most recent ad touted the economic benefits of the policy change.

In June, the state Assembly passed a cannabis decriminalization bill that would make possession of up to two ounces a civil penalty without the threat of jail time, though it hasn’t advance in the Senate.

 

[Helios]

Jerz in da house

 

[momofthegoons]

Jerz in da house
View attachment 22054

lol.... @Helios you beat me to it...

​

New Jersey Voters Approve Marijuana Legalization Referendum​

New Jersey voters have approved a referendum to legalize marijuana, according to a projection from NBC News.

Lawmakers will still have to pass enabling legislation to implement the legal cannabis system now that voters have signed off on the constitutional amendment, but a key senator who previously introduced a legalization bill said recently that he’s been working with the governor’s office and legislative leaders in recent weeks to finalize it. He said a vote could happen as soon as this month.

NJ Question 1: Legalize Marijuana​

Last updated: 11/4/2020, 6:48:40 AM

CANDIDATE	VOTES	PERCENT
Yes done	1,727,149	66.97%
No	851,879	33.03%

2,579,028 votes counted. 56.81% - 66.86% in.

Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D), who chairs the body’s Judiciary Committee, said the marijuana program that’s ultimately enacted will largely align with his earlier proposal. That said, he wants to add a retroactive provision to end cannabis-related prosecutions for pending cases in the legislation, which he said could be introduced as early as Thursday.

The senator floated the idea of allowing the state’s existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling cannabis to adults within a month of the election as recreational regulations are being developed. However, a top regulator for the medical cannabis system promptly shut that suggestion down, stating that patient access could be jeopardized because some existing dispensaries “literally do not even have the space to accommodate the level of demand that personal-use sales would bring.”

Polling on the legalization measure was strong heading into Election Day, with a series of surveys showing 61 to 66 percent of voters in favor of the policy change.

“Garden State voters spoke resoundingly. They are demanding their lawmakers end the failed policy of marijuana criminalization, and instead pursue a more sensible path of regulation and legalization,” NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri said.

“Law enforcement in New Jersey arrests more citizens each year for minor marijuana violations than almost any other state in the nation,” he said. “By moving to end this fiscally wasteful and morally repugnant policy, state officials will now be able to prioritize law enforcement resources toward combating more serious criminal activities, better respect the personal freedom and civil liberties of their citizens, end the racist application of marijuana prohibition laws against communities of color, and direct new tax revenues toward important social programs such as education and infrastructure development.”




Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has been actively campaigning in favor of the referendum, participating in fundraisers and appearing in ads to encourage voters to approve it.

Early on Tuesday, the governor said he was “highly confident” that voters would sign off on the measure.

“God willing, it’ll pass,” he said. “We’ll then work with the legislature to get that up and running.”

In an interview days before the election, he told Yahoo Finance that legalization “would be a revenue-generator,” adding that he thinks “at first it would be modest, but ultimately will grow, I think, into several hundred million dollars in the state budget.”

“Along with social justice,” he said, “that’s a pretty good, winning combination.”

The governor also recorded a video that was released by the NJ CAN 2020 campaign last month, outlining why he’s embraced the policy change. Murphy said that the ongoing criminalization of cannabis in New Jersey wastes taxpayer dollars, and he emphasized that prohibition is enforced in a racially disproportionate manner.

The governor similarly said in an interview that the marijuana reform proposal prioritizes social justice.

“I wish we could have gotten it done through a legislative process,” he said at the time, referencing lawmakers’ inability to advance a legalization bill last session. “We just couldn’t find the last few votes, so it’s on the referendum. I’m strongly supporting it—first and foremost for social justice reasons.”

Murphy also called on voters to support the proposal in an email blast that was circulated by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.

He said in July that legalizing cannabis is “an incredibly smart thing to do” both from an economic and social justice perspective.

The governor wasn’t alone in his attempts to get out the vote for cannabis reform. Filmmaker Kevin Smith last month urged his Twitter followers to “VOTE YES when you see State Public Question Number 1: Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Marijuana.”

NJ CAN 2020 released a series of English- and Spanish-language video ads last month, after having published one prior ad. Meanwhile, campaign finance records compiled show that legal marijuana supporters were out-raising opponents by a ratio of 200:1.

The campaign also released a video last week featuring Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). The senator, a strong advocate for marijuana reform in Congress, told voters, “I hope as you fill out the front of your ballot, you will look at the back and see that question, ballot question number one, and that you will vote to legalize marijuana in New Jersey for adult use.”

“We can do this as a state so much more responsibly, and instead of destroying lives we can get more resources to help to empower the well-being of all New Jerseyans,” he said, adding that “we have seen how the drug war has not been a war on drugs, but a war on people.”

In June, the state Assembly passed a cannabis decriminalization bill that would make possession of up to two ounces a civil penalty without the threat of jail time, though it hasn’t advance in the Senate.

“Because Question 1 is a non-binding, legislatively referred ballot question, the New Jersey legislature must now take immediate action to draft and implement enabling legislation in a manner that is in accordance with voters’ sentiments,” Carly Wolf, state policies coordinator at NORML, said. “Their first priority should be bringing about an end to the tens of thousands of low-level marijuana possession arrests that occur each year in New Jersey. Once this is accomplished, they should then expeditiously move forward to meet voters’ second demand, which is to initiate regulations to license and oversee the commercial cannabis market in New Jersey.”

Under the resolution, the constitutional amendment will go into effect on January 1, 2021, though the legislature “may take such anticipatory legislative action as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of the amendment,” text of the measure states.

“New Jersey voters have definitively approved marijuana legalization for adults 21 and over after years of political inaction,” Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said. “This victory will undoubtedly have a rippling effect in the Northeast and add to the increasing pressure in neighboring states to take action on marijuana legalization.”

 

[momofthegoons]

New Jersey Lawmakers File Marijuana Sales Bill Days After Voters Approve Legalization​

Less than a week after New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to legalize marijuana, state lawmakers are set to take up a new bill on just what the cannabis sales system will look like, including who will profit from the projected multibillion-dollar market.

On Monday, committees in both the state Senate and Assembly are scheduled to hold hearings on legislation to establish a regulatory framework for the new industry, covering matters such as taxes and licensing. Introduced Friday by Sen. Nick Scutari (D) and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D), the 216-page bill provides the first detailed look at how New Jersey’s marijuana market might operate.

Some of the key provisions: Adults 21 and older could purchase and possess up to an ounce of marijuana or five grams of concentrated cannabis. Retail stores would be allowed statewide, but local jurisdictions could ban them. Delivery services could operate statewide regardless of local bans. Retailers could allow on-site consumption as long as they have local approval.

But unlike most other legal states, home cultivation wouldn’t be allowed under the bill, titled the “Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act.”

A Senate committee on Monday will also consider two separate bills to decriminalize cannabis possession in the short term.

Under the legalization plan, until newly licensed businesses are up and running—which is expected to take a year or more—existing medical marijuana dispensaries would be able to sell to adult consumers.

“We are at the goal line,” Scutari told NJ.com on Friday. Lawmakers hope the legislation and its Assembly counterpart will pass the full Legislature by November 16.

The effort to rush the bill into the end zone, however, has already raised concerns. Even some who supported the legalization referendum have called the current version of Scutari’s bill a missed opportunity for equity and social justice reforms.

“The bill was posted Friday less than 24 hours ago, giving the public 0 business days to review 200 pages,” ACLU of New Jersey posted to Twitter on Saturday. “More to come as we complete our review, but it seems key racial and social justice provisions need strengthening or are missing.”

The process must be transparent, democratic, and inclusive.
A hearing for legislation to make the vote law was scheduled for Monday Nov. 9. The bill was posted Friday less than 24 hours ago, giving the public 0 business days to review 200 pages.
— ACLU of New Jersey (@ACLUNJ) November 7, 2020

Among the issues critics raised with the bill are its use of tax revenue to fund local police departments, licensing rules that seem to give preference to deep-pocketed businesses and even requirements on customer IDs that could cause obstacles for residents of U.S. territories and members of Native American tribes.

Much of the current bill is taken from Scutari’s past efforts to legalize cannabis, although the senator has been working with Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and other officials to update the legislation in recent months. Both Scutari and the governor have touted legalization’s economic and social justice benefits.

Murphy named Dianna Houenou, a current administration staffer and former policy counsel to the ACLU of New Jersey, to lead the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) on Friday. She made clear that social justice will be a key objective.

First Dispensaries, Then New Businesses​

One of Scutari’s main goals with the bill’s speedy timeline is to begin legal sales as soon as possible. “The retail sales will be available at the medical stores as soon as they have the product,” Scutari told Marijuana Moment in an interview on Thursday. “That’s the first wave of legal availability. The second is obviously newly started regulated businesses. That takes quite a bit longer.”

Last month Scutari proposed a plan that would have opened dispensaries to all adults within just weeks after the election, though a top regulator said that was unrealistic. The state’s dispensaries have already struggled to keep up with existing patient demand.

In an attempt to remedy that, Scutari’s bill would allow each medical producer to open two more cultivation facilities. “There’s no reason why, in the next 90 days, they can’t grow any more product and get it out on the shelves,” he said. “I mean, not saying they will, but they could—it’s not a physical impossibility.”

As for new businesses, the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission would grant licenses to growers, processors, wholesalers, laboratory testing facilities, distributors, delivery services and retailers. At least 25 percent of licenses would go to microbusinesses, which are capped at 10 employees and include additional residency requirements.

Unlike in New Jersey’s medical marijuana system, there would be no set limit on the number of business licenses available. Customer demand would determine the number of licenses, and more could be added if needed.

In terms of equity, 15 percent of licenses would be reserved for minority-owned businesses, while another 15 percent would go to businesses owned by women or veterans. Applicants would also receive priority status for planning to hire employees from areas with high arrest, crime or unemployment rates. On top of that, 35 percent of licenses in each license category would be so-called conditional licenses, aimed at making the process more accessible to lower-income applicants.

A new office, the Office of Minority, Disabled Veterans and Women Cannabis Business Development, would promote inclusion of marginalized groups.

Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, said the bill’s authors “include ambitious goals for minority ownership, but it is unclear how this would be realized apart from outreach.”

The application process itself could also tilt the scale in favor of wealthier companies, she added, which have an easier time covering the cost of rent and other business expenses while waiting for a license to be approved.

“The licensing system is based on a scored, point-based system that seems to require property and local approvals at the time of application,” O’Keefe said. “Requiring property at the time of applications — despite the fact that most applicants will presumably never get a license — requires deep pockets and is detrimental to equity goals.”

Taxes Fund Law Enforcement​

The proposed legislation would set a relatively low tax rate on adult-use cannabis compared to other legal states. Only New Jersey’s 6.625 percent sales tax would apply, though municipalities could impose an additional 2 percent on the industry, which could be passed to consumers.

By contrast, most other states impose marijuana-specific excise taxes, with some rates exceeding 30 percent.

At first reading of NJ's #cannabis bill draft, not only does it only apply the sales tax meaning it raises a paltry amount of funds, the vast majority of those funds goes to ** police departments!
You can't make this up. This is the height of dark comedy. #NJpol
— Brandon J. McKoy (@Brandon_McKoy) November 7, 2020

Revenue from taxes and licensing fees would go into a fund to pay for the Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s operating costs as well to reimburse local police departments for training officers to recognize impairment. The remainder of the revenue will go to the state’s general fund.

Social justice activists have hammered that plan, urging the state to reinvest tax revenue into communities that have been disproportionately stopped, searched, arrested, charged and convicted by law enforcement in New Jersey and around the country.

This all completely stems from lawmakers continuing to insist against a sensible tax structure that would ensure a healthy market while raising the resources to enable much needed community investments. To only apply the sales tax at 6.625% (& a max 2% local tax) is nonsensical.
— Brandon J. McKoy (@Brandon_McKoy) November 7, 2020

“When it comes to this bill,” Brandon J. McCoy, president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, said on Twitter, “#BlackLivesMatter is a punchline.”

Homegrow Still a No-Go​

Consumers who want to opt out of the commercial system or simply try their hand at growing cannabis at home will be out of luck under Scutari’s proposal. While most other legal states do allow personal cultivation by adults, the senator told Marijuana Moment that he’s worried that homegrown cannabis would be sold illegally.

“It seems like it’s just an additional black market that ends up happening—people grow more than they need, they sell it,” Scutari said. “And it’s an impossibility to police.”

“We’re not ready to take that on right now,” the senator added. “After the market is mature and there’s a national model for how we’re going to deal with marijuana, then yeah, we may allow that.”

Other Issues​

O’Keefe at Marijuana Policy Project noted a few other provisions of the legislation she’d like to see changed. First, while the bill would remove criminal penalties for minors in possession of marijuana, it would impose a $250 fine, which she called excessive.

The measure also requires customers to have a U.S. passport or state ID to enter a marijuana establishment. “This would prevent many individuals from DC, U.S. territories, Native American tribes, and other countries from purchasing cannabis while visiting New Jersey,” she said.

Scutari’s bill, S21, is scheduled for a public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Hearing on Monday at 10 a.m. The Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee will consider the chamber’s companion version at the same time, and the Assembly Appropriations Committee is set to hear the legislation Thursday.

Meanwhile, a legislative committee is also set to consider two separate decriminalization bills on Monday. One measure would replace criminal penalties for possession of up to six ounces of marijuana with a warning. A subsequent violation would carry a $25 fine. A second measure, which was approved by the Assembly in June, would remove criminal penalties for smaller amounts.

In the meantime, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal (D) issued a statement after the election urging police and prosecutors to exercise discretion around marijuana offenses.

Across the country this week, voters approved every major drug reform measure put before them, including marijuana measures in five states and decriminalization of psychedelic plants in Washington, DC. Oregon also approved a separate measures decriminalizing possession of all drugs and legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic use.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday the overwhelming results are likely to encourage reform at the federal level.

 

[momofthegoons]

Bill to decriminalize marijuana in N.J. passes in committee — and is amended to include hallucinogenic mushrooms​

A key committee in the New Jersey Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a bill to remove criminal penalties for possession of up to six ounces of marijuana.

In a surprise move, an unidentified senator added an amendment to the bill to downgrade penalties for possessing up to an ounce of psilocybin, better known as hallucinogenic “magic mushrooms."

The vote marked the first time any marijuana decriminalization bill had been considered, let alone passed, in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
The bill, S 2535, with its mushroom amendment, was approved without debate or discussion.

On Nov. 3, two out of three voters in the Garden State approved a measure to legalize recreational cannabis. There was no mention of any hallucinogenics being included in the measure.

The amendment would make the possession of up to an ounce of psilocybin a disorderly persons offense. It is currently a third-degree felony.

“I’m 100% in favor of it,” Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D., Linden) said of the mushroom amendment. “I think most drugs should be decriminalized or at least downgraded to something less than a felony for personal use. You just saw Oregon downgrade heroin and cocaine. We’re not doing that."

Legalization eventually will create a statewide cannabis industry in New Jersey. Legislation and regulations to govern the industry could take months, if not years, to complete.

Decriminalization removes criminal penalties for possession and distribution of small quantities of marijuana.

About 100 people are arrested for possession every day in New Jersey, according to Chris Goldstein, a South Jersey spokesman for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

“Justice for marijuana doesn’t start until arrests stop," Goldstein said. "And the constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis doesn’t do that, but this bill could.”

Kevin Sabet, a former drug policy adviser to three U.S. presidential administrations, previously led the opposition to legalizing marijuana in New Jersey and other states.

“It’s a gradual step to the legalization of all drugs,” Sabet said of marijuana. “We’ve seen mushrooms passed in Oregon, Denver and Washington, D.C. But at some point there’s going to be push back. ... What’s next? Heroin? Methamphetamine?”

The original marijuana decriminalization bill was sponsored by Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz (D., Newark). As the votes were being registered, Ruiz said she was “not happy with the entirety of the bill.”

“But it’s a compromise,” she said. “At least we’ve accomplished something. New Jersey is beginning to right its wrongs.”

She said the speed of the bill’s passage had left her in “a kind of haze.”

“We have to make sure that when we create the next frontier that we’ll have reparations and the opportunity to take someone from the street corner to a store front,” she said, referring to getting traditional drug dealers into the legal system.

Some industry insiders, who did not want to be identified, believe that the addition of the mushroom amendment could serve as a “poison pill” and scuttle the bill.

Scutari, the majority whip, said he expects the bill to pass a vote on the floor early next week. If approved, it will go to Gov. Phil Murphy for consideration.

 

[Baron23]

"“The bill that was introduced was an egregious, audacious, insidious white man money grab,”

Jeez, I'm sick of this racist BS. Guess what I really mean.

N.J. weed bill on hold as social justice advocates push for ‘justice’​

When New Jersey voters opted to legalize recreational marijuana by a 2-to-1 margin last week, all that was left to do was set up the new marketplace.
But social justice advocates say they were dismayed by lawmakers’ first attempt at enabling legislation, which was pulled this week amid criticism.
“The bill that was introduced was an egregious, audacious, insidious white man money grab,” said Charles Boyer, director of the group Salvation and Social Justice and pastor of Bethel AME Church in Woodbury.

The legislation (S-21/A-21), which passed committees in the Senate and Assembly on Monday but has since been put on hold, levied the sales tax on recreational marijuana sales and allowed municipalities to impose another local tax up to 2%. But it did not include an excise tax by weight, which proponents say would raise a steady stream of revenue.

The proposal also used the tax revenue from weed sales to fund the state’s marijuana regulatory commission and pay for increased police training, but it did not expressly send any money to the Black and Latino communities most seriously affected by low-level drug laws.

“Justice and repair is not you punching me in the face and then just stop punching me in the face,” said Brandon McKoy, president of New Jersey Policy Perspective. “Justice is fixing my face.”

A Black resident is more than three times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white New Jerseyan, despite similar rates of usage.
In a joint statement, Senate President Steve Sweeney; Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union; and Sen. Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, said after a Monday hearing on the bill that recreational marijuana tax revenues should go to communities most impacted by systemic racism in the criminal justice system.

“Those drug laws, with their mandatory minimum sentences, destroyed the lives of too many people of color, and we need to ensure that those new revenues are dedicated where they can do the most good to revitalize our communities,” the statement read.

Separately, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said in a tweet that he supports an “additional user fee” on recreational weed sales.
But for now, the fate of the legislation that will lay the groundwork for New Jersey’s new recreational marijuana market is unclear, and the bill has been pulled from scheduled floor votes in the Senate and Assembly next week.

Committees in both chambers approved a separate bill to decriminalize possession of up to six ounces of marijuana. That legislation would effectively halt arrests for minor possession charges while lawmakers continue to work on the enabling legislation, since the state’s current drug laws apply even after the passage of the constitutional amendment last week.

McKoy said a $42-per-ounce excise tax, which was in a previous marijuana legalization bill that failed to gain enough support in the legislature, could raise triple the amount of revenue as the legislation floated this week.

Boyer also criticized the number of licenses set aside for Black and Latino communities in the bill, and suggested that more opportunities to enter the new market be provided for people in affected communities, as well as for people with criminal records for low-level drug convictions.

 

[momofthegoons]

New Jersey Senate Approves Marijuana Decriminalization Despite Contentious Psychedelics Provision​

The New Jersey Senate on Monday approved a marijuana decriminalization bill as lawmakers continue to discuss broader enabling legislation to legalize cannabis following voter approval of the issue on Election Day.

Members of the Assembly were also scheduled to take up the decriminalization proposal—which would eliminate criminal and civil penalties for marijuana possession of up to six ounces. But that action was postponed, in part over disagreements about an amendment added in committee last week that would lower penalties for possession of psilocybin mushrooms.

Since the election, state legislators have been prioritizing cannabis reform. While the constitutional amendment voters passed will legalize marijuana as of January 1, it’s still up to the legislature to create regulations for the program, and a bill to accomplish that was introduced days after the vote. It was approved by committees in both chambers last week, but a vote in appropriations panels was cancelled on Thursday over disputes on certain components, primarily tax-related.

Senate leaders and the office of Gov. Phil Murphy (D), who strongly campaigned in favor of the legalization referendum, have reportedly struck a deal to add an excise tax on cannabis at the cultivation level on top of the 6.625 percent state sales tax that’s stipulated in the referendum. And now Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) says the planned committee votes will proceed on Thursday, with a full floor vote expected on Monday.

Sen. Pres. Sweeney says there's committee votes Thursday, full floor vote Monday for legal #marijuana bill https://t.co/P0ida8lOnp
— Daniel Munoz (@DanielMunoz100) November 16, 2020

The disagreements on marijuana tax issues are familiar disputes that played out the last time lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to enact the reform legislatively.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D) said he wanted to add a user fee to the legalization bill to bolster revenue for the state beyond the normal sales tax rate for purchases.

But Sweeney and lead sponsor Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D) quickly pushed back, saying in a joint statement that the state “should not impose any additional taxes that will put the cost of legally purchasing marijuana out of reach for the communities that have been impacted the most.” They also asserted that increasing the tax rate would hurt efforts to eliminate the illicit market.

Those issues appear to have been tentatively resolved—at least on the Senate side.

“We are still working on it, but there is agreement,” an administration source told NJ.com.

In the meantime, decriminalization advanced in the Senate in a 29-4 vote on Monday.

The bill would make it so that possession “of up to six ounces of marijuana, or up to 170 grams of hashish would be completely decriminalized and have no associated criminal or civil penalties.”

It would also provide for “virtual” expungements of cannabis possession convictions that occurred prior to the bill’s enactment. And it would make it so police could not use the odor of marijuana as justification to conduct a search.

Senate President Pro Tempore M. Teresa Ruiz (D), called it “the most progressive decriminalization bill in the country.”

“Not only are we decriminalizing possession but also first offenses for low-level distribution, a move which will offer individuals a second chance and ensure they do not become entangled in the system the first time they are caught selling small quantities of marijuana,” she said in a press release. “This is yet another step towards bringing justice and equity to historically impacted communities.”

Huge thanks to @SenTeresaMRuiz and the sponsors for recognizing the urgency of decriminalization with a strong bill.
Marijuana prohibition has harmed far too many already, and it would be unconscionable to add more devastation to people's lives when legalization is within reach.
— ACLU of New Jersey (@ACLUNJ) November 16, 2020

But it didn’t pass without controversy. Of principle concern for certain lawmakers, for example, is the provision that would make low-level possession of so-called magic mushrooms a “disorderly persons offense,” a significant reduction from its prior status as a third-degree crime.

A disorderly persons offense is punishable by a $500 fine and potential jail time, so advocates wouldn’t consider the psychedelic “decriminalized” if the provision is enacted into law. Still, it’s a notable reduction from the current penalty for people convicted of third-degree crimes, which can come with three-to-five-year prison sentences and fines of up to $15,000.

“How can we decriminalize a psychedelic drug called magic mushrooms when the basis for the decriminalization is the disproportionate impact on black and brown communities who had been arrested, or arrested, for marijuana,” Sen. Nia Gill (D) said on the floor prior to the vote. “And this magic mushroom, which is a psychedelic drug, has never been established as a drug used by the affected community and they are arrested for at a rate higher than all of us.”

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Jamel Holley (D) took to Twitter to slam the psychedelic provision.

“The decriminalization of marijuana debate has always been about the opportunity to address these wrongful policies & begin to reverse the damage done through decades of racial & social injustice,” he said, “Not mushrooms!”

It is very irresponsible & poor judgment of the NJ Senate to include such an amendment at the last hour, now delaying the restart of thousands of New Jerseyans lives. #poisonpill
My colleagues and I will continue to fight for fairness and equality.
— Jamel Holley

Of course, racial disparities in drug criminalization aren’t exclusive to cannabis. And, as a fellow senator noted, the revised language does not “decriminalize” psilocybin mushrooms; it simply lowers the penalty, and possession still carries the threat of jail time.

Under the decriminalization bill, distribution of “one ounce or less of marijuana, or five grams or less of hashish would become, for a first offense, an act subject to a written warning, which also indicates that any subsequent violation is a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment, a fine, or both,” according to a summary of the measure.

It’s not clear when the Assembly will move ahead with a vote on the bill, or if additional changes will be made that would necessitate further Senate action on a revised version.

Meanwhile, under the separate commercial legalization legislation that leadership has indicated will get committee and floor action in the coming days, adults 21 and older would be allowed to purchase and possess up to an ounce of marijuana or five grams of concentrates. Retailers wouldn’t launch right away, but as the licensing system is set up, medical cannabis dispensaries would be able to sell marijuana products to adult consumers.

Local bans on cannabis shops would be permitted, but delivery services would be allowed statewide regardless of each jurisdiction’s policy. Retailers could also provide for on-site consumption with local approval. Home cultivation for personal use would be prohibited, unlike in most legal states.

As legislators work through these policy disagreements, Murphy recently appointed Dianna Houenou, a current administration staffer and former policy counsel to the ACLU of New Jersey, to head the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC). She emphasized that social justice would be a key regulatory priority.

CRC would be responsible for granting licenses to growers, processors, wholesalers, laboratory testing facilities, distributors, delivery services and retailers.

But as those are set up, the bill will let medical cannabis dispensaries sell marijuana products for the recreational market. Scutari proposed that plan last month, saying that adults could start purchasing cannabis from dispensaries within just weeks after the election. However, a top regulator pushed back on the proposal, noting that the state’s existing medical marijuana have already struggled to keep up with patient demand.

The senator addressed that issue in the legislation. His bill would allow each medical producer to open two more cultivation facilities to increase the available supply. “There’s no reason why, in the next 90 days, they can’t grow any more product and get it out on the shelves,” he told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview earlier this month. “I mean, not saying they will, but they could—it’s not a physical impossibility.”

Also under the legislation, 15 percent of cannabis licenses would go to for minority-owned businesses, and an additional 15 percent would be given to businesses owned by women or veterans. If an applicant pledges to hire people from communities disproportionately impacted by crime or unemployment, they would get licensing priority.

Further, the bill would establish an Office of Minority, Disabled Veterans and Women Cannabis Business Development that would be tasked with promoting participation in the industry by marginalized groups.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal (D) is encouraging police and prosecutors to exercise discretion around marijuana offenses in the interim.

Sweeney said that the top prosecutor should “use his legal and moral authority to issue clear guidelines to all law enforcement authorities—state, county and municipal—to stop all arrests and suspend all pending criminal cases against individuals for possession of amounts of marijuana that would be considered personal use.”

“It’s time for these arrests that have disproportionately affected people of color to stop,” he said.

Holley, the assemblyman, similarly said recently that all low-level cannabis prosecutions should be ended, stating that the referendum vote demonstrates that “there is no patience anymore for prosecuting people caught smoking and possessing marijuana.”

 

[momofthegoons]

​

New Jersey Senate And Assembly Committee Pass Marijuana Sales Bills Despite Pushback From Equity Advocates​

Lawmakers in New Jersey advanced amended legislation on Thursday to enact a regulated marijuana market in the state, although new differences between Assembly and Senate versions of the proposal mean that further negotiations will be needed before anything can be enacted.

More than two-thirds of New Jersey voters passed a referendum on Election Day to legalize cannabis for adults, but state lawmakers still have to pass legislation to establish rules for the new system before legal sales can begin.

The enabling measures, S21 and A21, were introduced just days after state voters overwhelmingly passed the constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana. Lawmakers have pushed to pass the legislation as soon as possible to ensure regulations are in place when legalization takes effect on January 1 of next year.

“We’ve got to get this done by the end of the year,” the legislation’s lead sponsor, Sen. Nick Scutari (D), said at the Assembly panel hearing. “If we don’t, we’re going to run into a myriad of other problems.”

The vote in the Assembly Appropriations Committee was 7 to 4, although some who voted yes acknowledged that the bill needs additional revisions. At a hearing later in the evening, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved its own version of the bill in an 8-to-3 vote.

Because lawmakers in each chamber have now added different amendments to their versions of the legislation, Assembly and Senate leaders will need to get to work reconciling the bills.

“Our language will be different than what the Assembly has,” said Sen. Paul Sarlo (D), chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, “which will allow us to negotiate.”

The legislation was scheduled for final floor votes in both legislative chambers on Monday, but those plans have now been delayed as bicameral negotiations proceed.

As lawmakers scramble to pass enabling legislation, controversies over tax and social equity provisions are already slowing its progress. The budget committees were supposed to consider the bills last week after they were approved by other panels, but lawmakers deferred the votes due to disagreements over details.

Since then, amendments have been added to the bill that supporters say would better address social justice advocates’ concerns. The changes add an excise tax to marijuana at the cultivation level on top of the state’s regular sales tax, and lift a cap on the number of cultivation licenses available, from 28 to 37.

A newly amended version of the Senate’s bill, meanwhile, would remove the cap on licenses completely. The differences mean the two bills will need to go to a conference committee where lawmakers can craft a compromise.

On Thursday, equity advocates said the Assembly’s changes did little to meaningfully address their concerns. They noted that the language of the proposed amendments wasn’t available to the public ahead of the committee meetings.

Amendments being considered by the Senate panel weren’t made available before the Thursday meeting, either. More than two hours after the meeting was set to begin, lawmakers and commenters were still waiting on the proposed changes to be delivered.

Critics urged lawmakers to slow down and reflect on the measure’s details rather than push forward with a flawed bill.

“Even if the bill does not pass right now in its current form, the sky will not fall,” Tauhid Chappell, a journalist and medical marijuana patient, said during public comment. He urged lawmakers to add a provision that would funnel 30 percent of the program’s tax revenue to equity measures, including workforce training and interest-free loans to residents from communities negatively affected by the drug war.

Tax revenue under the current bill would fund education in the state as well as local police department training. The added excise tax could help fund social equity, but critics say it’s not clear that will happen under the legislation as written.

“Today’s amended cannabis legalization bill includes an extremely important step forward: a social equity excise tax that will fund financial reparations for communities of color devastated by the drug war,” the Rev. Charles Boyer, a pastor at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Woodbury, NJ, said in a statement. “But there are serious concerns that have yet to be addressed. This bill still lacks firm, codified language that guarantees that funding from the excise tax is reliably allocated with real community input to the state’s impact zones.”

Other commenters echoed the complaint that the measure as written would insufficiently address the historical disparities of the drug war. Though the measure would reserve 15 percent of licenses for minority-owned businesses and another 15 percent for women or veterans, most commenters on Thursday said that wasn’t enough.

Many called for lawmakers to remove the cap on cultivation licenses entirely to ensure a sufficient supply of legal cannabis—the state has recently struggled with shortages in the medical system—and enable small businesses to more easily secure licenses.

Replying to those testifying, Rep. John Burzichelli (D), who chairs the Assembly Appropriations Committee, noted that the bill, even if it passes, isn’t necessarily final. It could be amended even after becoming law. “As we bring this to life,” he said, “that doesn’t mean this is the final version forever and ever.”

Many of the same issues came up during the Senate panel hearing later Thursday, although considerably more discussion focused on workplace protections for marijuana consumers and rules on employee drug testing. The bill is designed to allow employees to use cannabis while away from work, but some officials have worried that could open the door to workers being high on the job.

The disagreements on cannabis tax issues are familiar disputes that played out the last time lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to enact the reform legislatively before giving up and referring the issue to voters via the ballot referendum.

Commenters also complained that the New Jersey bill would keep home cannabis cultivation illegal despite most other states allowing homegrow. Scutari replied that while he personally supports homegrow, allowing adults to grow cannabis at home would be difficult to police to ensure people aren’t growing too much or selling it on the illegal market.

“Personally, yes, I believe that’s something that’s the future for New Jersey,” he said. But in other legal states, he claimed, homegrow has caused problems. “That stuff found its way into the illicit market, competing with the regulated market, or in other instances [was] baled up and sent to jurisdiction that don’t allow for marijuana.”

Other lawmakers complained Thursday that the legalization bill is getting too convoluted. “We’re making it too complicated, too overregulated, and overtaxed,” said Sen. Declan O’Scanlon Jr. (R) at Thursday’s Senate hearing.

As debate continues on the legalization bill, New Jersey lawmakers are moving forward on separate decriminalization legislation that would eliminate criminal and civil penalties for up to six ounces of marijuana. That bill became more controversial, however, after the addition of an amendment that would also lower penalties for possession of psilocybin mushrooms. The Senate approved the proposal earlier this week, but the Assembly canceled planned floor consideration and has not yet rescheduled it.

Sen. Linda Greenstein (D) at Thursday’s hearing urged colleagues to move the decriminalization measure across the finish line before adopting legalization regulations, though nevertheless voted to advance the legalization bill to the full Senate floor.

Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Murphy has begun to assemble the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), which will oversee the legal industry. The governor recently appointed Dianna Houenou, a current administration staffer and former policy counsel to the ACLU of New Jersey, to head the regulatory agency.

Until legal sales are up and running, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal (D) is encouraging police and prosecutors to exercise discretion around marijuana offenses

 

[Baron23]

NJ Lawmakers Still Can't Agree on the Rules of Legal Cannabis​

A New Jersey Assembly voting session that had been scheduled for Monday and was to include a measure setting up the new recreational marijuana market has been canceled, Speaker Craig Coughlin said Friday.


Coughlin, a Democrat, said it was clear the legislation wouldn't get final approval because of differences between his chamber's bill and one in the Democrat-led Senate.


“The Assembly’s approach for producing fair and responsible legislation is to be thoughtful and deliberative,” he said in a statement.


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The Senate had also planned a Monday session but it was canceled late on Thursday, with lawmakers citing the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.






Lawmakers had aimed to fast-track the legislation after voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing recreational marijuana for those 21 and older in the Nov. 3 election.


Committees in both chambers passed measures on Thursday, but they differed. Lawmakers must iron out those differences before a final vote.


So far, a deal on legislation has eluded legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.


A key sticking point is whether the number of licenses for cultivators should be capped. The Senate legislation calls for zero caps, but the Assembly is seeking to have 37, which is up from 28 in an earlier version of the bill.


Another sticking point has been whether to include an excise tax, but legislators seemed to move beyond that stumbling block on Thursday. Both versions of the measure included language saying the Cannabis Regulatory Commission may levy such a tax, which was a late addition. Both chambers also want to levy another tax they say amounts to increasing the state's 6.625% sales tax to 7%.


A sticking point for the influential Legislative Black Caucus has been over programs aimed at helping Black communities, which have been hard-hit by marijuana prohibition. Black residents are likelier to be arrested on marijuana charges than white residents, for example.


Senate President Steve Sweeney said late Thursday he and other lawmakers would introduce a bill to dedicate money raised by marijuana taxes to social equity programs aimed at helping Black communities in particular.


There's also disagreement between the two legislative houses over how to approach decriminalizing marijuana-related crimes. A bipartisan majority in the Senate has passed a bill, but it's still pending the Assembly.


Democratic state Sen. Teresa Ruiz wants to see the decriminalization bill move before the legislation setting up the new marketplace and expressed frustration that the Assembly hasn't acted yet.


Coughlin said Friday he would continue to work to provide “long-sought social justice reforms.”


The constitutional amendment approved by voters goes into effect on Jan. 1.

 

[momofthegoons]

New Jersey Prosecutors Must Suspend Marijuana Possession Cases, State Attorney General Says​

The New Jersey attorney general on Wednesday told prosecutors to adjourn most marijuana possession cases until at least January 25, 2021 following voter approval of a referendum to legalize cannabis for adult use this month.

While the initiative amends the state Constitution to legalize marijuana for those 21 and older, lawmakers must still pass enabling legislation to create a regulatory framework for cannabis sales. The day after the election, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal (D) had issued initial guidance to prosecutors encouraging them to use discretion when it comes to marijuana offenses that will soon be codified as legal.

But this latest announcement expands on that memo, ordering prosecutors to pause cases involving a wide range of low-level cannabis possession offenses.

“Fairness demands that we suspend prosecution of marijuana possession-related cases while we await direction from the Legislature on the parameters for decriminalization of marijuana and legalization of regulated adult-use cannabis,” Grewal said. “It simply does not make sense or serve justice to proceed with prosecutions on charges that may be foreclosed soon through legislative action.”

The attorney general’s office listed seven specific laws that will be impacted by the temporary policy change, including those penalizing possession of up to 50 grams of cannabis and being under the influence of marijuana.

“Notably, today’s guidance does not affect the prosecution of cases charging distribution of marijuana or possession of marijuana with intent to distribute,” a press release from his office says.

The new memo specifies that “in cases where there are other pending charges in addition to the marijuana possession-related offenses enumerated above, prosecutors shall use their discretion to either postpone the case in its entirety or seek dismissal, without prejudice, of the above-enumerated marijuana possession-related charge(s) and proceed with prosecution of the remaining charges.”

In the previous guidance released earlier this month, Grewal recognized that there may be some confusion among residents about the implications of the legalization referendum’s passage so police and prosecutors “should exercise discretion” in pursuing marijuana cases, as outlined under earlier 2018 guidance that he issued.

A municipal prosecutor recently argued in a memo sent to colleagues across the state that voters’ approval of the legalization referendum, as well as the attorney general’s earlier directive this month, means that many current cannabis cases should not be pursued.

Senate President Steve Sweeney (D), who previously pressed the attorney general to issue guidance to suspend arrests and court cases for possession of marijuana, praised the new move on prosecutions.

“Now that the people of NJ have spoken no one should be subject to facing criminal charges for minimal amounts of this substance,” he said in a tweet.

We applaud @NewJerseyOAG for taking the necessary steps to finally bring an end to arrests for #marijuana possession. Now that the people of NJ have spoken no one should be subject to facing criminal charges for minimal amounts of this substance.https://t.co/XByYtLCf8Upic.twitter.com/MWl9HpqN24
— Steve Sweeney (@NJSenatePres) November 25, 2020

Enabling legislation to set rules for the state’s cannabis market was introduced just days after the referendum vote, and it’s already advancing at the committee level.

Most recently, the Assembly Appropriations Committee and Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved legalization bills, albeit in differing forms that will have to be resolved. Planed floor votes for this week have been canceled as leaders hold bicameral negotiations on outstanding details.

Meanwhile, the Senate recently approved a separate marijuana decriminalization bill and the Assembly was supposed to vote on it as well, but that was also pushed back amid disagreement about an amendment to lower penalties for psilocybin, and has yet to be rescheduled.

In anticipation of the legislature’s approval of a legalization bill, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) recently named an official to lead the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission that will oversee the legal marijuana market.

 

[Baron23]

Of course it does.

In the age of political double speak, "social equity" = race based policies and "affirmative action"...but that term has been exposed so now its social equity.

NJ bill to legalize marijuana includes 'social equity' tax​

Revenue from tax would fund programs that work to offset racial, drug-related disparities​

An effort to legalize marijuana in New Jersey could include a "social equity" tax to address the disparate effect of anti-drug laws on communities of color.

Measures in the state's Senate and Assembly would authorize the Cannabis Regulatory Commission to impose a “social equity excise fee." Revenue from the tax would fund programs that work to offset racial and drug-related disparities.

“We’ve spelled out the communities that we look for this money to be invested in,” Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat, said Monday during a roundtable discussion, according to NJ.com. “I think we made our intentions very clear in the Senate.”

12 MILLION AMERICANS FACE LOSS OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

Initially, the legislation called for a 6.625% state tax on marijuana sales, but the amount was raised to 7% last month, according to the Asbury Park Press.


The chambers are still divided on what percentage of tax revenue should go toward the programs: The Senate has proposed directing all of the social equity fee and 70% of all sales tax revenue toward such initiatives, while the Assembly would only direct sales tax toward the programs, NJ.com reported.

Advocates, including the Legislative Black Caucus, pushed for the social equity funding.

BIDEN CALLS FOR ERASING SOME STUDENT LOAN DEBT, FACES PROGRESSIVE PRESSURE TO GO FURTHER

“A key component of cannabis legalization is addressing social justice concerns,” Assemblyman and caucus member Jamel Holley said in a statement last month. “The fact that Black New Jerseyans are 3 or 4 times more likely to be arrested on cannabis charges has contributed to the disenfranchisement of (Black) communities.”

New Jersey voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum in November legalizing recreational marijuana in the state for adults 21 and older.

The state's attorney general, Democrat Gurbir Grewal, has ordered an end to low-level marijuana prosecutions in the state but has not instructed police to end possession arrests.

The decriminalization bill would end such arrests

 

[Baron23]

What's Impeding New Jersey's Cannabis Amendment?​

The New Year's Day deadline until New Jersey's constitutional amendment authorizing recreational marijuana takes effect is fast approaching, along with the final scheduled legislative voting session of the year.
But New Jersey's Democratic-led Legislature finds itself at an impasse over measures decriminalizing marijuana and, until late Friday, also setting up the new recreational marketplace.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and legislators said they reached an agreement on setting up the marketplace, but didn't disclose details on Friday.

Lawmakers and lobbyists express cautious confidence that the measures will move forward, but the logjam comes even though the top two legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy largely agree on how to move forward more than a year after the trio announced their support for legalization.
Legislators have penciled in Dec. 17 for the final voting sessions of the year. On Jan. 1, the amendment that passed with support from two-thirds of the voters takes effect.
A closer look at what the sticking points are and what's going on:

WHY THE LEGISLATION IF VOTERS ALREADY APPROVED?​

Voters overwhelmingly said yes to a constitutional amendment that legalizes a recreational marijuana market for people 21 and older. But the amendment doesn't specify what that market would look like, beyond tasking the Cannabis Regulatory Commission with overseeing it.
The amendment also does not address laws on the books that outlaw marijuana crimes, like possession and distribution. Neither does any state law address a cannabis marketplace. The Legislature has always known it would need to step in.

SO WHAT ARE THEY PROPOSING?​

There are two key bills; one rewrites the state's laws on marijuana possession.
Currently, marijuana possession and distribution of an ounce to 5 pounds of marijuana is punishable by as many as five years in jail. The measure would make it lawful to possess up to 6 ounces of marijuana. The other bill, which is the one Murphy said there's a deal on, sets up the marketplace, placing the Cannabis Regulatory Commission in charge of it. The legislation also addresses tax rates, which were a key sticking point early on.
The bills sets up a sliding scale of a per-ounce tax rate on cultivators. If an ounce of cannabis costs $350 or more, the tax is just $10 per ounce. But if the price per ounce falls to below $200, then the tax climbs to $60 an ounce, with two additional steps between those two levels.
The state's sales tax of 6.625% also applies.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, THEN?​

Both measures are pending in the Legislature at the moment. The state Senate passed the legislation decriminalizing marijuana, but it has hit a roadblock in the Assembly.
The issue, lawmakers say, had to do with psilocybin mushrooms. Huh? The drugs known as psychedelic or magic mushrooms were added to the Senate version of the bill shortly before it passed, with a bipartisan majority. The measure downgraded possession from a third-degree crime to a disorderly persons offense.
That language gave Assembly lawmakers pause.
The bill setting up the marketplace snagged on whether to limit the number of licenses the state authorizes for businesses that want to get into the marijuana trade.
The Assembly favors limiting cultivator licenses to 37. The Senate is opposed to any such limits, arguing they could stunt supply and consequently fail to put the marijuana black market out of business.
The Senate is also proposing that the proceeds from the per-ounce tax be entirely used in towns and cities whose residents were disproportionately affected by marijuana-related arrests, while the Assembly is not.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?​

Lawmakers say they're working behind the scenes on the measures. Their last chance to vote on them before the amendment goes into effect comes just before the winter holiday break.
Anticipating that lawmakers are working on legislation, however, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has directed prosecutors to use their discretion and not pursue a number of marijuana possession charges until Jan. 25.
“Fairness demands that we suspend prosecution of marijuana possession-related cases while we await direction from the Legislature," Grewal said in a statement.

 

[Baron23]

New Jersey Governor And Lawmakers Reach Deal On Cannabis Legalization​

New Jersey officials are moving cannabis legalization forward.

New Jersey lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced last week that they had agreed on a plan to legalize recreational cannabis in the state. The deal comes following last month’s approval of a ballot measure that asked New Jersey voters to weigh in on the concept of legalizing marijuana but lacked details on establishing a regulated cannabis industry.

“There is a deal,” said Sen. Nicholas Scutari, the sponsor of the marijuana legalization bill, on Friday. “It’s been a long road and I’ll be happy when it’s done.”

State Leaders Hail Agreement

In a joint statement, Murphy, and fellow Democrats Scutari, Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, and Assembly Majority Conference Chair Annette Quijano said on Friday that the plan includes strong social equity provisions.

“We’re proud to announce today that we’ve reached an agreement on legislation providing the framework for legalization, which is a critical step in reducing racial disparities and social inequities that have long plagued our criminal justice system,” they said. “This legislation will accomplish our shared goals of delivering restorative justice and ensuring that the communities most impacted by the War on Drugs see the economic benefits of the adult-use cannabis market. While there is still much work ahead, we are one step closer to building a new, promising industry for our state.”

Under the plan, all of the revenue raised by a tax on cultivators and 70% of the sales tax from cannabis purchases will be dedicated to social improvements including health care, restorative legal aid programs, and mentoring in communities impacted by prohibitionist cannabis policy. Democratic Assemblyman Jamel Holley, one of the bill’s sponsors, noted the significance of the evolution of the state’s cannabis legalization efforts.

“When the original bill was introduced in the Senate several years ago, there was no mention of social justice, social equity, and revenue returning to the impacted communities and individuals that have been affected by the War on Drugs,” said Holley. “While it has taken a very, very long time of negotiations, debate, and dialogue, I am very proud of the work of the members of the Black caucus and the Assembly and our speaker for producing the focal point of social justice in this bill. All New Jerseyans should be proud.”

Activists Also Commend The Deal

Carly Wolf, the state policies director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), applauded New Jersey state leaders for reaching the agreement, which came following the approval of Question 1 by 67% of voters in November’s election.

“The time for legislative action on marijuana legalization is now. I commend legislative leaders for finally coming to an agreement and urge the swift enactment of these regulations and an immediate end to marijuana arrests in the Garden State,” said Wolf. “Voters made their mandate clear; stop arresting our friends, family, and neighbors for marijuana and instead replace the failed policy of prohibition with a pragmatic regulatory framework that focuses on social equity and reinvesting in communities most harmed by the drug war.”

Under the deal, the number of licenses for cannabis cultivators will be capped at 37 for the first two years of legal recreational sales. The limit will not apply to small businesses with 10 or fewer employees that are granted micro licenses.

Also last week, New Jersey lawmakers agreed on a bill to allow possession of up to six ounces of marijuana. Efforts to pass that bill last month failed after provisions were added to the Senate version that would have lessened penalties for the possession of psilocybin. A separate bill to lessen the penalties for magic mushrooms will instead be introduced in the state Assembly.

 

[momofthegoons]

New Jersey Lawmakers Advance Revised Marijuana Sales Bill, With Floor Votes Expected This Week​

About a month after New Jersey voters approved a marijuana legalization referendum, a key Senate committee on Monday advanced a newly revised bill to implement regulations for the program, with a floor vote expected on Thursday.

The panel also approved another piece of legislation to reduce penalties for possession of psilocybin mushrooms. That was originally included in a separate marijuana decriminalization bill, but it was removed amid controversy and instead made into its own standalone legislation.

Lawmakers quickly got to work crafting legislation that would set rules for the marijuana market following the ballot measure’s passage, and differing versions cleared appropriations panels in the Assembly and Senate last month. Leaders from both branches have since negotiated with one another and with Gov. Phil Murphy (D) to arrive at a unified approach.

Now the Senate Judiciary Committee has passed the resulting cannabis sales bill in a 6-5 vote.

Advocates have encouraged the legislature to swiftly enact cannabis sales regulations, but they’ve pushed back on the initial proposal that was introduced, arguing that it did not go far enough to address social equity and restorative justice for communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.

The new version seeks to address those concerns, but some activists say it is still inadequate.

The new bill includes Senate-supported provisions to allocate 70 percent of marijuana tax revenue to community reinvestment programs such as legal aid, workforce training and mentoring.

The Assembly secured a win as well, with negotiators agreeing to include the chamber’s proposal to cap cannabis cultivation licenses at 37 for the first two years. Activists want no caps, as they feel it would limit minority participation in the industry. Microgrow licenses for businesses with 10 or fewer employees would be uncapped.

Tax revenue would also go toward public education and law enforcement training, in addition to covering administrative costs.

“This is a historic step forward for New Jersey that will put us in the forefront of the reform movement,” Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) said in a press release. “We will now be able to move forward to correct social and legal injustices that have had a discriminatory impact on communities of color at the same time that marijuana is regulated and made legal for adults. This represents a significant change in public policy that will have a real-life impact on social justice, law enforcement and the state’s economy.”

The legislation does not create a special category of licenses for equity business applicants and continues to criminalize the act of growing small amounts of marijuana at home for one’s own consumption, which are points of contention for many legalization supporters.

In any case, the recent compromises between top lawmakers are clearing the path for floor votes, which are expected on Thursday. The Assembly is also expected to take up the separate bill to decriminalize marijuana possession on that day. The Senate approved it last month when it still had the psilocybin component attached.

In the meantime, the Assembly Appropriations Committee is set to vote on the revised legal sales implementation legislation on Tuesday.

After a deal was reached, Murphy, Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D), Senate Judiciary Chairman Nicholas Scutari (D) and Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D) released a joint statement saying the legislation “will accomplish our shared goals of delivering restorative justice and ensuring that the communities most impacted by the War on Drugs see the economic benefits of the adult-use cannabis market.”

While the bill advanced on Monday, there was some debate during the hearing over provisions related to workplace and roadside drug testing. Several advocates also testified in favor of enhancing the legislation’s social equity components.

“The cannabis legalization bill advanced by the Senate’s Judiciary Committee today is testament to the hard work of advocates, community organizers, and faith leaders across New Jersey who fought to ensure that our state prioritizes reparations for communities of color as we launch this historic new cannabis market,” Rev. Charles Boyer, founding director of Salvation and Social Justice, said in a press release.

“Although there are several more provisions we would like to see, we cannot understate how far this has come,” he said. “While legislators initially tried to rush through a framework that perpetuated an oppressive status quo, today’s bill includes powerful elements that will promote racial justice as we legalize cannabis statewide—including a social equity excise tax and 70 percent of the sales tax that will directly fund community programs in parts of the state devastated by the drug war and lifts the caps for licenses after two years.”

At the hearing, Scutari emphasized the importance of passing this implementation legislation sooner rather than later.

He said failing to do so would mean that the state would “have a constitutional crisis like you’ve never seen before you’re going to have the constitution saying it’s legal,” yet there would be no regulations. “We’ll have shirked our responsibility to the public,” he said.

Prior to the compromise deal, Sweeney and other Democratic senators released another cannabis-related constitutional amendment that would go before voters. If approved, it would ensure that a majority of tax revenue from marijuana sales would go to communities most affected by cannabis criminalization, shielding the funds from being moved to other programs during the state’s annual budget process.

Meanwhile, as legislators work to advance the implementation bill, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal (D) is directing prosecutors to adjourn most marijuana possession cases until at least January 25. The day after the referendum vote, he issued initial guidance to prosecutors, encouraging them to use discretion when it comes to cannabis offenses that will soon be codified as legal.

Meanwhile, the psilocybin bill that’s advancing would not decriminalize the fungi, per se. But it would make low-level possession punishably by a maximum $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail, rather than three to five years of incarceration. An Assembly committee approved that chamber’s version of the mushroom bill last week and it is set to receive a floor vote on Thursday.

Separately on Monday, the Senate Judiciary panel also approved legislation to revise “the restrictions that apply to ownership of or investment in a medical cannabis dispensary and other types of alternative treatment centers,” according to a summary.