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

Trenton Bureau
A look at what needs to happen to make New Jersey the latest state to legalize weed.

New Jersey is moving to make recreational marijuana sales and use legal for adults, a move that comes after years of debate and a lengthy effort to first legalize and then expand the state's medical marijuana program.

Here's a look at what needs to happen to make New Jersey the latest state to legalize weed, and one of the only to do so by vote in the Legislature, not a ballot referendum.

The Votes

First to act must be the Legislature, where the Assembly and Senate are each controlled by Democrats generally open to legalization.

Committees in each house are considering a package of three bills that would regulate marijuana sales and use as well as measures, including expungement, to deal with those who have criminal records related to marijuana. 

Once the committees vote, these bills head to votes in the Assembly and Senate, although legislative leaders may send the bills onto other committees for consideration. And each bill may be changed or added to after a committee votes before a final vote in the Legislature. Bills that get a vote now can linger before any action is taken. In this case, the only deadline is a vote before the end of the legislative session in January 2020.

To clear the Assembly, each bill must get at least 41 votes; in the Senate it needs 21 to pass.

The latest:NJ marijuana legalization clears first hurdle after legal weed vote

Here are the bills:New NJ legal weed bills are unveiled, and voting starts Monday

The Signature

Once the Legislature approves, the governor must sign any bill before it becomes law. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, campaigned on making marijuana legal. Murphy has the option to sign the legal weed bills, reject them outright or send them back to the Legislature for modification. The governor does have a deadline to act, but the timing is complicated and could be several months before he must decide.

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The Rules

After legal weed is signed into law, and depending on how each bill is written, state agencies may become involved in a process to set the rules in place that will actually decide how sales are handled, how taxes are collected and generally what legal weed will look like in New Jersey. The final versions of each law may have specific timelines, or that may be up to various state agencies.