Shortly before a vote Monday on a measure to vastly expand New Jersey’s medical marijuana program, state Assembly leadership put the bill on hold over fears Gov. Phil Murphy would veto it when it got to his desk. Better to negotiate with Murphy than send him something he’s just going to send back, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said Monday afternoon. But […]
New Jersey
New Jersey Department of Health announces medical marijuana rule changes
The New Jersey Department of Health has announced amended medical marijuana rules that establish standards by which the department implements the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The rule changes follow the department’s recommended regulatory actions in response to Gov. Phil Murphy’s Executive Order No. 6, which charged the department with reviewing all aspects of the […]
Marijuana Legalization Hits a Wall: First in New Jersey, Then in New York
In March, both states seemed days away from a landmark legalization deal. Now inertia is feeding doubts that it can happen this year. A push to legalize recreational marijuana in New York and New Jersey this year appears all but dead in both states, a dramatic fall for an effort that just over a month […]
N.J.’s marijuana bill nearly ‘dead.’ That means you may get to vote on making weed legal.
It’s now all but certain that New Jersey voters, and not lawmakers, will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana in the state, three legislative sources confirmed to NJ Advance Media late Thursday. A plan for the state Legislature to vote on a bill that would make recreational pot legal for those 21 and older in the Garden […]
Legal cannabis remains stalled in N.J. as politicians don’t know how to solve this big issue
As New Jersey’s leaders aim to pass a bill by the end of next month to legalize marijuana in the state, they’re grappling with a damned-if-they-do, damned-if-they-don’t dilemma that’s threatening their efforts. After more than a year of debate and wrangling, Gov. Phil Murphy and his fellow top Democrats remain a few votes short of the number they need […]
Phil Murphy sets May deadline for New Jersey legal marijuana vote, what’s next?
When Gov. Phil Murphy came into office, he vowed to legalize marijuana within 100 days. Now? It’s looking like weed may not be legalized until 500 days into Murphy’s tenure — at the earliest. The push for New Jersey marijuana legalization hit a roadblock last month when scheduled votes on the bill to legalize weed were […]
New Jersey Calls For Big Increase In Number Of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
New Jersey health officials on Monday recommended a huge increase in the number of medicinal marijuana dispensaries, arguing that the current handful of so-called Alternative Treatment Centers won’t be nearly enough to meet surging demand. The Department of Health said the state will need 50 to 90 of the centers in the next three years […]
Why the Plan to Legalize Marijuana in New Jersey Suddenly Unraveled
All the elements for swiftly legalizing marijuana in New Jersey seemed to be in place: A proposed bill was enthusiastically backed by Gov. Philip D. Murphy and had been endorsed by leaders of the Democratic-controlled State Legislature. Also, statewide polls showed support for the issue. Then the plans unraveled. Some lawmakers were unsure about how […]
Effort to Legalize Marijuana in New Jersey Collapses
A monthslong effort to legalize marijuana in New Jersey collapsed on Monday after Democrats were unable to muster enough support for the measure, derailing a central campaign pledge by Gov. Philip D. Murphy and leaving the future of the legalization movement in doubt. The failure in the Legislature marks one of the biggest setbacks for […]
Legal weed won’t happen right now in N.J. Lawmakers call off big vote.
Top state lawmakers have canceled a planned vote Monday on a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older in New Jersey, saying they simply haven’t gathered enough support in the state Senate. But they vowed to take up the measure — one of Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature proposals — at a […]
New Jersey scheduled to vote on legal marijuana today … but will it pass?
It all comes down to this. The state Legislature today is scheduled to make a decision on marijuana legalization, with the landmark bill to legalize, tax and regulate weed scheduled for votes in the Senate and Assembly. Either the legal weed bill will go up for a vote, putting New Jersey on track to legalize […]
Legal marijuana for N.J. takes a huge step forward. We now expect final votes next week.
New Jersey took another big step toward legal weed on Monday, as two state legislative committees approved a new bill that would legalize recreational marijuana in the Garden State, setting up historic votes in the full state Legislature next week. The committees took hours to vote after lawmakers wrangled over last-minute changes to the measure […]
NJ marijuana legalization: Phil Murphy, legislators announce legal weed deal. Is a vote next?
After more than a year of negotiations, Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders have reached a final deal on New Jersey marijuana legalization. A vote to legalize weed in the Garden State could come later this month. “Legalizing adult-use marijuana is a monumental step to reducing disparities in our criminal justice system,” Murphy said in a […]
Expungement debate threatens to hold up marijuana legalization
Ask most supporters of marijuana legalization and they’ll tell you that, yes, it’s a new industry that will generate millions of dollars in sales taxes for the state. But, more importantly, according to Gov. Phil Murphy, “First and foremost this is a social justice issue.” And that means expungement — or setting aside criminal convictions […]
Marijuana Tax in New Jersey? It Could be $42 an Ounce
Gov. Philip D. Murphy and Democratic legislative leaders in New Jersey have reached an agreement that could place the state on a path to legalizing recreational marijuana this year if they are able to win enough support in the state legislature. The agreement, which establishes how marijuana would be taxed and sets parameters on a […]
Majority of New Jersey residents favor legalizing recreational marijuana, poll shows
New Jersey lawmakers may still be working out details on just how to legalize marijuana. But one thing is for certain: The majority of the state’s residents are for it, according to a new poll. Results of a Monmouth University poll, released Monday morning, show 62 percent of adults in the Garden State support a […]
N.J. mayors threaten to ban weed dispensaries if lawmakers don’t meet their demands
The mayors of New Jersey’s two biggest towns won’t allow marijuana dispensaries in their cities unless they are happy with how the legalization bill addresses previous weed convictions. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop joined a handful of other town leaders from across the state Wednesday to call for stronger social justice […]
N.J. just doubled its medical marijuana program. See where the 6 new dispensaries will be.
After months of delays that exacerbated a marijuana supply shortage for patients, New Jersey has now effectively doubled the size of its medical marijuana program. The state Department of Health on Monday revealed the six medical marijuana dispensaries it picked to add to the program. If those six get up and running, New Jersey would have 12 […]
