MARIJUANA

Legal weed is one step closer to coming to New Jersey. Here's what's next

Nicholas Pugliese
Trenton Bureau
Sen. Nicholas Scutari and Sen. Stephen Sweeney speak to the press after they learned they have enough votes to pass the bill out of committee that could legalize recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and over. Monday, November 26, 2018

The votes were a historic first for New Jersey as lawmakers moved closer to making the sale and use of marijuana legal. But the fight for those on both sides of the legalization debate is not over.

What happens now is that Democrats who control the Legislature need to pass the bills related to legal weed in the Senate and Assembly, where it is not clear if supporters have enough votes to make that happen.

Those legislative leaders then need to win over Gov. Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat who campaigned on legal weed but has remained decidedly non-committal to what the Legislature is doing. While lawmakers Monday were hearing from dozens of witnesses, Murphy stopped short of endorsing the legislation under consideration.

“I’m encouraged that it’s moving in the right direction, and it’s too early to tell as it relates to exactly the elements that ultimately are in there," he said. "We’ll see, but I'm happy to see the progress.”

A step forward:NJ marijuana legalization clears first hurdle after legal weed vote

Next moves:Here's what still needs to happen before weed is legal in New Jersey

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At stake is not only the fate of recreational marijuana for adults, but two other bills long-sought by those looking to help medical patients and ease the criminal penalties for using marijuana.

New Jersey's medical marijuana program, long legal but severely limited under former Gov. Chris Christie, would be expanded by increasing the monthly medical marijuana cap to 3 ounces per patient from 2 ounces, allowing adults to purchase edible forms of cannabis and hiking the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, manufacturers and cultivators.

And people with criminal records would be able to erase a larger number of crimes, including drug-related ones, from their records as part of an overhaul of the state's expungement rules. 

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What happened with legal weed?

Two committees met for a rare joint hearing on Monday and considered testimony that lasted nearly four hours. The legalization bill was approved 7-4 with two abstentions by members of the Senate budget committee and 7-2 with one abstention by those on the Assembly appropriations committee. 

The votes were largely along party lines, with more Democrats in favor.

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What's next for legal weed?

To become law, the legal weed bill must receive 41 votes in the Assembly and 21 in the Senate. Then Murphy needs to sign it. 

But when, or if that will happen, is not clear.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said in an interview Monday that he wouldn't post the bill for a vote in the full Senate until it has Murphy's support. The next possible votes by the full Senate and Assembly are in mid-December.

"Until we can come to an agreement, we can't send a bill to him," Sweeney said.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, for his part, issued a statement after Monday's votes, calling them an "important step forward."

"We will continue working the bills towards passage to create a well-regulated and inclusive marijuana industry that is rooted in social and economic justice," he said.