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Years after beginning efforts to legalize marijuana for adults in New Jersey, lawmakers on Thursday passed a landmark bill that establishes rules and regulations for legal cannabis sales and makes the Garden State the first in the country. region to revise its pot laws.
The state assembly voted 49-24 with six abstentions to pass the bill (S21), and the Senate followed later on Thursday, passing it 23-17.
The bill now goes to Gov. Phil Murphy’s office, who must sign the measure for it to become law.
“I think nothing will have a bigger impact than I did in my career in the Legislature over all New Jerseyans,” said Senator Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, the sponsor of the bill, said before the vote.
“It was a long journey,” he says.
It was the will of the people – who voted 2: 1 in November to change the state’s constitution and legalize weed – that ultimately made struggling lawmakers say yes.
Scutari and Senate Speaker Stephen Sweeney D-Gloucester decided last fall to end the legislative effort to legalize marijuana after repeatedly failing to garner enough votes and bring the issue to voters. .
But passing the ballot issue has put lawmakers back to work on setting the industry’s rules and regulations – this time with a directive to pass a bill focused on social and racial justice.
“This bill to legalize cannabis is a strong commitment to social justice,” said MP Annette Quijano, D-Union, who sponsored the Assembly’s version of the bill. “This bill establishes measures to make the cannabis trade diverse and fair.”
In addition to passing the landmark 240-page law, lawmakers were to vote to end arrests for possession of less than six ounces of marijuana or for selling up to one ounce (S2535) and to reduce sentences for people taken with psilocybin, or “magic” mushrooms (S3256).
Just before 1 p.m., the Assembly adopted the decriminalization bill 64 to 12, with three abstentions. The Senate also narrowly passed the Psilocybin Bill, which turns possession of an ounce of a third degree felony into a disorderly person offense, punishable by up to six months in prison and 1,000. dollars fine, by a vote of 22-15 with two abstentions.
Lawmakers have been under pressure to act quickly after the election, as the constitutional amendment goes into effect on January 1. Without a law to stop arrests for possession or to lead the legal industry, some feared the illegal market would operate freely and arrests would continue, a myriad of court challenges.
Even if Murphy signs the bill quickly, there is still work to be done. He and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, still have to name appointees to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. This group will oversee the licensing process for new marijuana businesses, from growers to dispensaries.
Some believe it could take at least a year for the commission to establish rules, license and open dispensaries to the public.
This story will be updated.
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Amanda Hoover can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj.
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