Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey signed legislation late February legalizing the recreational use of cannabis for adults, setting the stage for the opening of a cannabis market in New Jersey. Before that happens, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission must establish regulations for the new industry — a process that could take months. It is unlikely that the marijuana supply will be able to match expected demand until late 2021 or early 2022, according to industry experts.
The signing of the legislation marked the end of a sometimes tumultuous legislative agenda that was years in the making. When campaigning for governor in 2016 and 2017, Murphy pledged to legalize recreational cannabis within his first hundred days in office, a deadline nearly three years expired. Discussions over the details of legalization stalled the process in the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly, and despite several near-misses, a bill was never able to pass both chambers.
In spite of the broken-down negotiations, Murphy was able to secure the legislature’s consent to place legalization on the ballot in 2020, in order to allow New Jerseyans the chance to force the government’s hand. The ballot measure, which passed by a landslide 2-to-1 ratio, amended New Jersey’s constitution to legalize possession of cannabis. The amendment established a hard deadline of January 1, 2021, for the government to repeal extant laws criminalizing marijuana to prevent a situation of legal limbo.
That deadline was missed as negotiations continued to drag on.
Advocates for legalization disagreed over the extent to which to earmark tax revenue from cannabis sales, and where that money should be earmarked to. Social justice advocates believed that marginalized communities, which were predominantly the victims of cannabis prohibition, should receive investments from the tax revenue in order to repair the damage done to communities; Murphy agreed, and the final legislation includes similar language.
These disagreements, as well as others over how to treat minors caught with marijuana and the role of police intervention in enforcement, led to a nearly two-month-long period of contradictory laws and unclear directives for citizens and state officials. More than 2,000 charges for marijuana possession were issued by police officers in the state after the constitution’s amendment to legalize it came into effect. Ultimately, more than 6,000 charges for cannabis possession were issued after citizens of the state voted overwhelmingly to legalize it in November.
While residents of New Jersey cannot yet legally purchase marijuana for recreational use until the Cannabis Regulatory Commission establishes regulations, issues dealership licenses, and approves dealerships to open their doors, the laws which remove criminal penalties for possession went into effect as soon as Murphy signed them.
Adults in New Jersey can no longer be charged or fined for simple possession of marijuana and police officers can no longer use the scent of marijuana as justification for searching an individual or their property. Purchasing marijuana from unauthorized dealers, or purchasing it in other states where it is legal to do so and then transferring it over state lines into New Jersey to consume, remains illegal; the former due to the licensing requirements of the constitution’s amendment, the latter due to the continued illegality of cannabis at the federal level (many states where recreational cannabis is legal also separately have laws which explicitly forbid leaving the state with cannabis purchased there).
While the road ahead to a thriving recreational marijuana market in New Jersey may seem long, state officials and business leaders are determined to open the doors before neighboring states like Pennsylvania and New York have the chance to pass similar laws. The New Jersey rules explicitly allow “marijuana tourism,” and advocates of the plan are hopeful that the state will see a large financial and cultural benefit from the new legislation.
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