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Leading state legislators are abandoning efforts to pass a bill that would legalize marijuana in New Jersey, Senate Speaker Stephen Sweeney said Wednesday morning.
Instead, they will ask voters in November 2020 to amend the state constitution to legalize weeds.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are moving ahead with two related bills that would expand Garden State's medical marijuana program and erase the records of residents who have previously been convicted of possession of five pound pot.
Sweeney and his fellow Democrats who run the state legislature have spent months getting enough votes for the bill to pass, making marijuana a legal hobby for 21 and older. But Sweeney said they simply could not get enough support.
"It's no use wasting time," said Sweeney, D-Gloucester, at a press conference at Statehouse in Trenton. I'm disappointed."
"We did our best," he added. "The votes are not here."
Sweeney said he was expecting voters to approve the vote issue next fall. Polls show that a majority of New Jersey residents support the legalization of marijuana.
NJ Advance Media was the first to talk about Sweeney's projects on Wednesday morning.
Hopes for N.J. weed can be in smoke. But the expansion of marijuana for medical purposes now enjoys bipartisan support.
A Republican lawmaker is committed to contributing to the expansion of the medical sector and keeping the conversation in the foreground.
Of the 10 states that have already legalized the pot, all but one – Vermont – have done so by asking voters. But Murphy and lawmakers said the choice of legislative route would give them more flexibility to put in place and change the laws governing the new sector.
The legislators of both political parties, however, strongly opposed. A vote scheduled in March has been canceled and the hope of a new vote has faded in recent weeks.
"I am very disappointed," said Sweeney. "But people have very strong beliefs and feelings."
Sweeney and the Speaker of the State Assembly, Craig Coughlin, of D-Middlesex, had linked the recreation bill to the more popular bills related to medicine and radiation, in hope to mobilize more support for the legalization of the grass.
But this resulted in a backlash.
Murphy said he would have "no choice" but to use a decree to expand the state's medical pot program himself if a vote was not held in May because more patients needed help.
On Monday, the Murphy administration announced that the state's health department will have a new legal authority next week to expand the supply and demand of medical cannabis in New Jersey.
Meanwhile, legislators from both parties have publicly pushed in recent days to pass the medical jars bill separately, claiming he was being held hostage.
"It's time to turn around," said Declan O'Scanlon, R-Monmouth, on Tuesday at a news conference.
Sweeney, however, partially blamed Murphy on Wednesday for having cast a vote on the draft law on recreation. He added that he had asked the governor not to announce that he would only expand his medical grass in the event of a failed May vote, fearing that this would give legislators a reason not to vote for the draft law. hobbies. But, Sweeney said, Murphy "did not listen."
"After the Governor announced the expansion of medical services, it was almost complete," said Sweeney, who is caught in a growing feud with Murphy over tax incentives. "The urgency is gone."
Murphy's office said the governor would respond to Sweeney's announcement at an untied press conference later in the day.
The Radiation Bill is part of the efforts of Murphy and other great Democrats to ensure that social justice is improved by legalizing the pot. Murphy often quotes statistics showing that residents of color are three times more likely to be arrested than whites for marijuana-related offenses.
But in November, Sweeney said he was against, because the House was at the top of the poll and should attract as few voters as it is older.
Instead, the Senate Speaker said it would be next November, while a presidential election should attract a higher voter turnout – and younger.
Scott Rudder, President of New Jersey CannaBusiness Assassociation, said his group i"obviously disappointed that the legalization of adult use has been put on the back burner".
However, Rudder added, "we are grateful that medical cannabis reform is moving forward and that patients will finally have better access and be able to participate in a more affordable program."
NJ Advance Media Staff Writer Matt Arco, Payton Giuon, Susan K. Livio, and Justin Zaremba contributed to this report.
Brent Johnson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ johnsb01.
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