I love the latest "it has been found in some cases to be a gateway drug", but when opiate users over the 100 years they have been illegal ALL say they used alcohol. When I was in university in NY, studies showed most heroin addicts had not used marijuana.
Now, no one ever died from drinking alcohol, no one ever became an alcoholic, those things are clearly fake news hoisted on us by???
People smoking on the streets in subways are things that get worked out. That YOU don't like that? OMG I want to ban perfume, but I stay away from places like that.
Make a fund for women and minorities to help start up, give them advisors like the SBA did for decades.
We will try thing and some will work. Some will fail.
One the the single largest problems in America is we do not let politicians be WRONG. It is why the $30,000 idea needed only 3 million well if we just had 30 million and now we have these monsters that do not work but thousand and thousands of people are getting a paycheck....and someone would have to say "I was wrong".
In business, some Great Ideas are No Good. Apple's Newton, Microsoft's Zune. Apple did not spend millions and then billions to make the Newton work. They saw it was no good & dumped it. Same with Zune.
Government's idea of a good idea. Don't assist a minority family struggling on minimum wage, instead pay the mother more if she kicks her husband out of the house, then pay her more for each child she has.
3
Reefer Madness is alive and well in New Jersey!
Meanwhile in Canada our halfhearted legalization has obviously killed thousands in the resulting road carnage due to stoned drivers. The Emergency Wards are overwhelmed by by all the stoned schizophrenic teenagers. For some reason these disasters aren't being reported. The kind and caring NJ legislators are just trying to avoid the tragedy that legalization obviously brings.
The current War on Drugs has done a good job of getting blacks off the streets. This must be the reason the article says,"Some African-American lawmakers, in particular, could not be persuaded to embrace legalization, believing it would bring more harm than good to their communities." I wasn't aware of how beneficial the War on Drugs really is.
5
There is no rational, empirical reason not to legalize marijuana.
9
I cannot understand the position of some black legislators in New Jersey.
I get it that saying marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol is not a great selling point, especially given the ravages of alcohol addiction.
But to leave our youth unprotected from low level drug busts and the formally incarcerated left to carry a marijuana convictions on their record is unconscionable.
Could it be that some held out because they don't think enough of the new marijuana business was coming to their districts? I hope not.
But the reasons given so far just don't add up.
6
If no legislation was voted on then the legislature *failed* in even the smallest capacity. People need to be able to hold their representatives accountable and without a vote this is impossible.
1
This was supposed to be the people's new gold rush and allow a lot of us a chance at success after being beaten down over the years with low wages. However Uncle Sam stays with his corrupt roots and ONLY allows that can bribe to own business's that sell pot. Once again the American people are ripped forced to give welfare the richest at our expense.
1
Liberals mock gun right activists for stating that if we impose gun control, only criminals will have guns - yet they say exactly the same thing when it comes to marijuana ("making it illegal is pointless because it's so easy to get on the black market"). Well, which is it? Do laws work, or do they not?
You want it to be legal? Fine. But don't tell me that legalization means it's "regulated". Regulated would mean not allowing people to smoke it in the street, but they do, all the time (do we allow people to drink alcohol in the street?). Regulated would mean we wouldn't see it and smell it in crowded subway trains, in parks where tobacco smoke is already not allowed, at the beach, in front of schools, in apartment buildings and hotels that are tobacco-smoke free (or even those that are not, yet now smell completely skunky in the hallways)... I don't care what you ingest in the privacy of your home. I just don't want to smell marijuana every single day of my life, which has been the case in the last couple of years. And I know plenty who agree.
6
You practically NEED it to be able to live in NJ, it should come in your welcome package when you buy a home there......
14
I'm smoking either way.
13
Big Pharma strikes again!
8
"The bill would have wiped away criminal records for hundreds of thousands of people convicted of minor drug offenses and legalized recreational marijuana in a state that borders the nation’s biggest city. It would also have given many in prison a chance to be set free and ended parole for many others."
Just knock out the legalization of recreational marijuana, and this can still be done.
4
@S Baldwin - Why would you want to knock out ending the monstrously destructive, counter-productive, fraudulently enacted, freedom-destroying, marijuana prohibition?
7
The evidence is abundant that marijuana use is directly tied to the increase in mental illness in its users, particularly as a result of the high-grade of marijuana now farmed in the United States. The legalization and widespread use is a penalty being imposed upon the public by law makers who support such. Who benefits? The investors who bring the product to market......similar to the the Slacker family and its opioid billions while the addicted suffer and kinds of complications and, some die.
More sensible is the decriminalization of user amounts, not legalization of the product itself.
Yes, I know, uncounted millions have been expended on the war on drugs without much measurable result. That said, if the product is as harmful as the credible evidence suggests, encouraging the use is a fool’s errand.
5
@Truthbeknown
Please. - All the Reefer Madness claims have been debunked. - The alleged marijuana/schizophrenia connection stemmed from an observation that a certain percentage of schizophrenic patients consumed marijuana. Prohibitionists jumped on the idea that showed marijuana caused schizophrenia, and the media belched it out.
It turns out, some schizophrenic patients were actually self-medicating with cannabis. Further research has shown most patients obtain effective relief, while a few get aggravation of their symptoms.
But prohibitionists love this false causation idea so much they continue to cling to it, as you do.
On the contrary, research shows marijuana helps prevent the deadly swelling from brain trauma, gives the brain more stamina, helps prevent and treat Alzheimer's and similar brain disease and actually stimulates the production of new brain cells.
Decriminalization is a nonsensical end policy, since it leaves all the violence, crime and corruption in place. -The only sensible policy is to completely end all of the fraudulently enacted prohibition, and sell in regulated, safe stores.
Since marijuana is so near harmless, in the long run, it will end up being sold wherever beer and wine are available.
20
@Truthbeknown I have been a fan since 1964. Still waiting for the long term effects you folks have predicted.
15
@Truthbeknown. Maybe if marijuana had been legal, alot of kids would have grown up with stoned, hungry fathers instead of angry, drunk ones. Alcohol is and always has been the most destructive and damaging “legal” drug on multiple levels.
10
I'm having a very hard time understanding why leaders of the black community are against this bill.
They are the same ones who complain (rightfully) that a disproportionate number of minorities are imprisoned for marijuana related offenses, but then vote against a proposal that will not only eliminate those offenses, but release their imprisoned constituents immediately???
Call me cynical, but it seems like something else is playing out under the surface. Maybe that campaign contribution check is still in the mail?
18
@Ex New Yorker -- Right. - The most logical "contributor" are the 14 giant pharmaceutical companies headquartered in New Jersey.
10
@Ex New Yorker
If these drugs move indoors, how will my children get enough fresh air and sunshine they get selling drugs on the street?
Where will that nice boy Zack who sells the illegal guns find new customers?
"I'm not sure it is the right thing for our neighborhoods"....which are so peaceful and prosperous and The Gangs just got matching colors.
5
The Democratic coalition has come to be made up of a weird alliance between African Americans and affluent White Liberals, who have exactly opposite political concerns.
African-Americans tend to be more religious and socially very conservative on a lot of issues while being fiscally more in favor of redistributive programs.
White liberals are socially very liberal while being fiscally more conservative.
Democrats are going to have an increasingly difficult time squaring this circle, not just on marijuana legalization, but a whole host of other issues.
7
"Among the most vocal opponents were a handful of African-American Democratic lawmakers who split with their party over legalization, arguing that it would be a public health menace to their communities."
I think at some point we ought to listen to these folks. They see what has happened to their communities and I applaud them for being honest about it. Even so, I don't think this is a good enough reason to oppose legalization. People are going to have to figure out how to live their lives with the temptation to get high.
6
Yes there are adverse effects from cannabis use. There are even worse adverse effects from alcohol and tobacco use, both from a personal and public health and safety perspective. The argument isn't about legalizing something that is 100% positive with zero negatives. The argument is about regulating and controlling a substance that most people use with little to no adverse effects, and not to mention a substance that is even approved and prescribed as a medicine to treat a wide range of conditions. Through legalization, the public can be further educated on how to use cannabis responsibly, just as we are with alcohol.
Quite frankly, so long as alcohol and tobacco remain legal, there is really no argument to support cannabis as an illegal substance and alcohol as a legal one.
19
Carl Sagan was a world-renowned astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science educator. He had a brilliant career and was beloved by the English-speaking world. He smoked marijuana recreationally every day. He said:
"The devastating insights achieved when high are real insights... I can remember one occasion... one idea led to another, and at the end of about an hour of extremely hard work I found I had written eleven short essays on a wide range of social, political, philosophical, and human biological topics... From all external signs, such as public reactions and expert commentary, they seem to contain valid insights. I have used them in university commencement addresses, public lectures, and in my books."
15
Marijuana related visits to the emergency rooms in Colorado have gone up four-fold since legalization. We're rushing into this without looking at all the downsides. More teenagers will use effected their brain growth, higher accident and fatalities on the road, etc. Any additional tax money will be lost to additional medical care. Aren't enough people in trouble with addictions? This is a terrible idea regardless if the public thinks they want it. It's been foisted on us by a small minority supported by a liberal press and politicians who want to give the people their circuses to keep them happy and get the politicians elected.
14
@Alan Klein - This is pure, false propaganda. - I've already shown how marijuana is not a significant cause of auto accidents.
The most recent research has shown there are NO permanent effects on the brain, not even of teenagers.
Novice consumers sometimes take too much, feel ill, get scared and go to the hospital, but they are never in any danger. NO ONE has ever died from consuming marijuana in all of recorded history. - The "treatment" they get when they go to the hospital is a couple of hours rest with, perhaps, a mild sedative for the scare. Then, they are good to go - every time. - This rarely happens with experienced consumers. If it does, they know they will do better just lying down at home for a while.
Please stop this propaganda. - The only thing harmful about marijuana is the fraudulently enacted prohibition.
37
@Alan Klein - Instead of cherry-picking headlines and making your "facts" up out of whole cloth, how about citing real data. teenage use in CO dropped after legalization. Adult use increased, but at the same rate of growth that began long before legalization. Even that increase appears inflated since more people are now willing to admit usage after legalization.
Nearly 2/3 of Americans support legalization and support increases with each passing year.
6
By the looks of the cover photo, Jersey has no idea what they’re doing.
8
I believe that any legislator who has expressed objection to legalization would change their message if those in the illegal trade could be taken care of rather than be put out of business.
Provisions could be specified that existing illegal wholesalers and dealers would be able to freely participate in the various legal distribution and sales outlets.
There are many business opportunities which become real once legalization is in effect. Rather than put the present suppliers out of business, let them join in profiting from the broad venture.
1
@Polemic
Don't worry. California finds that illegal growth and distribution still dominates the market.
2
@Chris Kox - Only because the legal sellers refuse to let go of the fantasy that the legal price should equal the black-market price.
Most of the black-market price is composed of the prohibition premium, that amount which compensates the sellers for the risk of going to jail. With legalization, that risk is gone and so should the "premium" be gone.
But they can't see beyond their greed. They won't be able to resist for long. The power of the legal marketplace will force prices down to their natural level. Marijuana is just a plant. Its price will naturally float near that of fine pipe and cigar tobacco - at $50 an ounce, or less.
Once at its natural price, there will be no room for the black-market to operate.
https://www.leafly.com/news/strains-products/portlands-6-eighth-ounces-are-the-future-of-cannabis?fbclid=IwAR2oxorbNp2VwCYPRmLrg3w-qbpWuBrhynfDq8v5z3ncKAQLdFS28iyoOic
5
@Chris Kox
Only because those legal sellers cannot let go of the fantasy that legal prices should equal black-market prices.
Most of the black-market price is comprised of the 'prohibition premium' - that amount which compensates the seller for the risk of going to jail. - With legalization, that risk is gone and so should be the premium.
But sellers cannot see past their greed. However, they will not be able to resist the tremendous forces of the legal market place.
After the dust settles on re-legalization, average quality marijuana will sell for $50 an ounce, or less. It's just a plant. The price will naturally float near that of fine pipe and cigar tobacco.
This is already happening in Colorado, Oregon and other states where legal prices have dropped massively.
1
Good! Less chance of a car accident from someone high on pot.
5
@Peter
Ridiculous. If you had any knowledge of the subject and the studies that have been done, you would know that marijuana poses a much lower risk of driving impairment than alcohol, yet I don't hear you clamoring for the return of prohibition. The idea that people should be punished, penalized, incarcerated, diverted into boondoggle drug "re-education" programs for doing something that is so much less harmful than alcohol is just staggering hypocrisy.
18
@Peter sorry to break it to u, pot heads been driving high for a long time and never get into accidents, they drive alongside u everyday! Also new driving study says high or not the results for the test were almost identical so it was inconclusive! Drunk driving gets bad results, maybe u should switch lol
13
@Peter
You are misinformed. - Marijuana is not alcohol. The preponderance of the research shows marijuana consumption is NOT a significant cause of auto accidents.
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, found that while drunken driving dramatically increased the risk of getting into an accident, there was no evidence that using marijuana heightened that risk.
In fact, after adjusting for age, gender, race and alcohol use, the report found that drivers who had recently consumed marijuana were no more likely to crash than drivers who were not under the influence of any alcohol or drugs.
Studies show medical marijuana law states have lower traffic fatality rates compared to states that haven’t legalized.
13
I'm betting the biggest reason this didn't pass was one not even mentioned in this article. - The most powerful forces against re-legalizing marijuana are the pharmaceutical companies. They simply don't want the competition. Studies shows patients, especially seniors are reducing their prescription drug intake by consuming marijuana. - For many, it works better with NO dangerous side effects.
14 of the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world have their headquarters in New Jersey. Most Black politicians now recognize the fraudulently enacted prohibition hurts their communities FAR worse than near harmless marijuana. It's apparent the New Jersey Black politicians are on the payroll of the pharmaceutical companies to give them cover.
It is always massive corruption that is marijuana reform's worst enemy.
28
@John Thomas Always follow the money!
5
@Sandy - Sad, but true.
1
When they finally do legalize, the weed will probably cost a fortune and be so weak it gives you a headache.
6
@Gene Ritchings Always follow the money
@Gene Ritchings
Sorry, the earlier comment was meant for John Thomas
1
As a transgender woman who is a successful marijuana entrepreneur @shattergurljacquelibe IG and who just spent my birthday weekend skiing in Vail with the money I've made off of cannabis, I find these black lawmakers views pretty short-sighted and incorrect.
If you have knowledge about cannabis and are willing to work hard, you will succeed in this industry. I've worked hard for 8 years to get to the position I am today, and I dont agree with giving preference to women and minorities in this industry. The only people it will help is rich or well-connected black people and women. Giving preference to women and POC isnt going to magically put licenses worth millions and possibly billions of dollars into the hands of people like me. It's going to cause women and blacks who are rich and well connected to get licenses, and it will place people like me and regular women and POC at a disadvantage. You will probably see a bunch of rappers get licenses, which helps no one since those rappers are already privileged rich people.
Shame on liberals for taking something that makes so much sense (legalizing marijuana) and turning it into a racialized mess that failed.
15
Newsflash: criminalization does not keep pot away from teenagers, nor does it prevent driving under the influence.
31
Are these lawmakers really that short sighted? A menace to black communities? Yet most people in jail for pot are black. That may be the dumbest argument I’ve ever heard. And pot is available now everywhere. Whether it’s legal or not. How to keep it out of the hands of teenagers? It’s in their hands now legal or not. So New Jersey would rather keep the status quo of more blacks in jail and less social programs due to lost tax revenues that could’ve come from marijuana? Ok.
28
@Mike L Welcome to the new Left.
The Right is fractured between the Evangelicals and the ultra-rich. But they are able to work together.
The Left is fractured between corporate-centralist and libertarians.
Half the Left wants to have international neo-liberal policies tempered with some state socialism. The other half wants communal grass-roots action.
Most people just want some form of reasonable, moderate, justice. Not arresting a person for smoking weed, but jailing pimps and pushing away trouble makers.
4
@Mike L Totally agree with you: Senator Rice from Newark (!) wins the price for idiocy: better keep the drug dealing illegal, with the violence and the incarceration that illegality generates, than having legal pot stores that generates income, jobs, tax revenue and put the dope dealers out of business.
It was doomed from day one.
1
As a white female medical marijuana patient, I have been "woke" for 20 years to the fact that the police will ignore me to go after a young black man. That means young black men have in some sense been paying for my freedom with their own.
I feel badly enough about that already. Now I absolutely want to be sure that the legal marijuana industry spreads the wealth to the black community. I don't want my money to exacerbating inequality.
8
This reminds me of the times back in the 1980s when legalization of marijuana was part of our original platform for the Greens. We called it Herbal Freedom but when we went into the Black communities political leaders there looked at all our other ecological proposals and told us they agreed with everything but "why are you trying to put a joint in my child's hand?".
7
New Jersey Democrats should take heed of Pennsylvania. Republicans controlled all three branches of government then lost the governorship because they promised to get rid of State Stores and didn't. So New Jersey Dems can now kiss the governorship goodbye.
4
It's sad that the black legislators voted against legalization and the interests of their constituents. It may have to do with the power of churches within the black community. The churches were in the vanguard of the fight against racist laws a generation ago, but they always had a moralistic approach to the world. It worked well in the days of Martin Luther King, but it doesn't work so well now.
I see a parallel in the recent split in the Methodist church and even in the Catholic Church, where black leaders such as the African cardinals have opposed liberalization. I wonder if those who oppose legalization of weed are also opposed to abortion and gay rights.
10
Legalization doesn't resolve the Civil Rights issue. Decriminalization does. Lawmakers need to start with that and get it right well before they ignite the fire of legalization and commercialization.
5
The worst part is the reason its being delayed because its "more convienent" to those running for Re-election in the state assembly to do it in a lame duck session rather than pass it and face the voters...A true disgrace.
2
What is the racial makeup of New Jersey?
Fifty-nine percent of the population is White, followed by 18% Hispanic or Latino (of any race), 13% Black or African American, 8% Asian.
Why is 80% of investors being white be out of bounds ?
6 out of 10 residents are white. Does everyone want to stop the legalization because 40% of residents who happen to be both a minority, and also are choosing to oppose legislation- but should they be expected to be investors?
5
Why can't the residents of New Jersey vote on it? Enough already. Just legalize it.
25
@Joie We don't want marijuana legalized in NJ.
3
How do you know that? I live in nj and would rather see alchohol banned and pot legal.
11
Yes we do. @Centrist
9
Good for New Jersey for looking out for their communities. In Massachusetts, nearly every health care/substance abuse treatment, public safety, education and social services organization came out against it. But this lobby bamboozled the voters and now we're arguing over how to police high drivers and the skunk smell from grow operations owned by big marijuana.
10
Personally I do not care if they keep it illegal or legalize it.
What I do not want to happen is to make it legal to smoke in public.
In the same way there are laws you can't smoke tobacco cigarettes because there are other people who are being exposed to second hand smoke I do not want to be exposed to second hand smoke from people smoking weed.
I don't like the smell and I definitely do not want the high you might get by standing next to someone who is smoking it If the only way I can stop people from smoking it in public is to make it illegal then I will support those who want to make sure it remains illegal.
10
Public consumption in Colorado is rampant, even though it's illegal. Doesn't matter what the law says, they can't enforce it.
4
@lucky You can't get a buzz from secondhand smoke. If one could, I assure you that potheads long ago would have made contraptions to capture every bit of smoke.
I can't stand the smell of cigarettes at the bus stop in the morning. Too, bad, I can just move a few feet away and they can rush through that cigarette before the bus comes and we can all get along.
Its been legal here in Seattle for years although smoking in public is prohibited. I don't smell it on the streets nearly enough:) But if you want to be annoyed by outdoor smoking, you should have enjoyed our last two summers when the rest of the west coast was on fire and we were warned to stay indoors because of the smoke. My entire apartment smelled like an ashtray/campfire for two weeks afterwards. THAT is annoying:)
3
@Hannah
That's not right.
Why should I have to suffer
We don't let people drink alcohol in public
3
An earlier NYT article basically said that black legislators in NY State won't support legalization of marijuana in New York because blacks, who were early adopters and heavy users/sellers of marijuana, won't get a piece of the action. Sounds rather like some of the resistance to legalization in New Jersey.
Oakland, California requires at least half of marijuana licenses go to those with cannabis-related convictions and low income.
Does this sound totally crazy to anyone besides me?
8
@Mal T - It does not sound crazy, we in this country have always had racist leaning policies and double standards when it came to punishing white folks and people of color. In New York marijuana has been decriminalized since the 1970's, yet stop and frisk, a procedure that violated the civil liberties of thousands of young black men, used marijuana as a way to target and jail innocent people even though it wasn't against the law to carry marijuana. We owe black people in this country so much, so I feel the least we could do is pay them back some form of reparations for the harms this country has caused, and by providing a clean slate to anyone who was convicted of a non violent drug offense and allow them a chance to earn some of the profits before the majority white industry that criminalized them profits from legalized marijuana and locks young people of color out.
6
"...most New Jersey residents support legalizing marijuana..."
So much for representative government.
12
Most people speed. Doesn't mean increasing the speed limit is good public policy.
5
Lowering it to 55 was a disastrous public policy.
5
Irvington, Camden, East Orange, Newark - cities filled with poor black people living in conditions that are a national disgrace. It’s been like this for decades. What’s really on the mind of the black legislators? They must be holding out for a reason. What is it?
14
How dumb are the politicians in NJ. Are they that naive that they do not think anyone who wants marijuana cannot get it currently. The illegal drug dealers of NJ rejoiced today. They are the only people that are effected by legalization not passing.
26
@Chris The drug cartel will always win in mass producing more potent marjiuana as they do in Colorado. It needs to remain illegal and does not benefit society; poses dangerous second hand street smoke with higher carcinogenic agents than tobacco; it is a gateway drug with employees now failing drug tests. If more blacks are getting arrested it is because they break law and must smoke marijuana in public areas. They and any race smoking marijuana deserve incaration. So happy NJ did not legalize marijuana today. The left liberals are imposing drugs on children and want to profits. Gov Murray is a disgusting politician.
6
@Centrist
Is the "centrist" thing tongue in cheek?
You're (mostly) parroting myths that were scientifically debunked years or decades ago. For instance, it's been known for quite some time that the "gateway drug" theory behind cannabis boils down to little more than fear/paranoia-based hysteria.
Long term effects on HEAVY cannabis users...studies have shown that their lungs are not marred with the carcinogenic changes we see in cigarette smokers.
Not to mention CBD's proven ability to inhibit the growth of certain types of tumors.
But...y'know. Science.
5
This whole discussion is simply ridiculous. Just legalize it already. I never knew a person that smoked weed and then went home and beat the daylights out of the wife, kids and kicked the family dog.
However, I’ve heard about quite a few people that have done that after drinking booze.
And by the way, they were white people.
20
@Bryan Says you; persistent use of marijuana causes psychosis resulting in ER encounters and violence. Would your permit met a stoner to be your physician, attorney, driver? You get the point.https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna987161
1
You are conflating issues. Two wrongs don't make a right. And look up "marijuana induced psychosis" before you assume it's all good.
4
@Hannah I am against marijuana legalization on all points. Sorry.
3
There is a disconnect between the headline and what the article is about. The headline tells us that the effort to legalize Pot in New Jersey will fail fail The only reason given is that there are black leaders who are against making it legal because they claim it is not good for their community.
Most of the article if anything tells us that Pot should be legal because black people will no longer be incarcerated for selling it.
Which one is it.
Do we legalize it because we want to help black people or do we keep it illegal because the leaders of that community who I assume want to help black people tell us that we should not make it legal.
4
Just like in the 1920s prohibition,the criminals in NJ will continue to reap the rewards of street sales.
3
If we legalized marijuana what would we need a Wall for? Canada and the Netherlands are doing just fine.
2
I guess some of the politicians in NJ are happy to continue having a thriving black market for MJ in their state.
4
@J Darby Ask Colorado-there will always be a drug cartel competing for business with more potent drugs. You sound naive.
1
If Colorado is anything to go by, the black market will only flourish after legalization.
2
@Hannah They have not and are more addicted than before. Drug use in Colorado is the highest it's ever been. Black, white, green, red people should be arrested if smoking marijuana or using any drug.
4
O the irony of black lawmakers worried about an imaginary health crisis from legalization when it has been the illegality of cannabis that has unquestionably wrecked the lives of so many African Americans. (In similar fashion the black community and specifically its religious leaders are behind the times on LGBTQ rights--they played a significant role in the original defeat of California's gay marriage efforts and they continue to be over-represented among opponents of equal rights for the LGBTQ.)
For years opponents of legalized cannabis have put forward their objections with no accountability for the status quo, but that is starting to change. Opponents have to weigh the real costs in lives, tax dollars, and inequitable law enforcement--all readily accountable--as well as the intangible corrosion of respect for the law when they make their arguments. Reasonable people are increasingly realizing the true costs of prohibition, comparing that to legalization, and coming to the clear answer. It cannot happen too fast and again it is minority populations who will see the most benefit.
20
A shame. My father outlived his cancer diagnosis by 10years because he relied on marijuana instead of opioid style drugs. A clear new business opportunity to balance struggling state budget which would also take the teeth out of the cartels by ending the black market for this. I would also like to see those incarcerated for minor marijuana use and offense to be released and records expunged.
16
@Mary Sure you do but the fact remains legalizing marijuana will never diminish illegal drug business as drug lords compete for business with stronger drugs. Sorry your Dad passed but we don't need to legalize marijuana.
2
I am not sure how I feel about recreational marijuana but I do not understand why we cannot expunge records of those convicted of drug crimes and release those in prison for drug offenses. Why can't these things be done without also legalizing marijuana? Why can't we also decriminalize drug offenses from this point forward? Doing these things would appear to help the mostly minority communities that have been negatively impacted by drugs and mass incarceration.
12
@j
In 2003, Portugal decriminalized all illegal drugs....and they have never regretted it.
Drug use did not increase.
The cost of incarcerating drug users decreased.
Drug traffickers still go to jail.
The "lenient" law doesn't apply to foreigners, who can still deported.
It is a win-win-win situation...although it would probably be better to call it a tie-tie-tie since drug use still exists.
But illegal drug use was never going to go away.
So decriminalization is better than criminalization.
However, I doubt the U.S. prison industry, Big Pharma and the alcohol industry will let marijuana use become legal very easily.
13
We need to move to having Ballot initiatives in NJ like in other states. We cannot keep on relying on the failed politicians of new jersey whose only thing they know how to do is raise property taxes and drive residents out of the state.
19
Oregon was the first state to grant the people the right of the initiative, referendum and recall. These "powers of the people" do not exist east of the Mississippi River. Just Google initiative and referendum and there is a map showing state by state who has what powers.
Without the initiative power you have to hope that the legislature will refer a matter to the voters. If the people had the initiative they can bring the matter to a vote before the electorate without the consent of the legislature.
It was surprising to me that these powers are not widely distributed throughout the country.
2
Good. This stuff was made illegal for a reason. Just because there are more potheads today that are lawyers and scientists, doesn't make previous findings and warning void.
13
@MPA booze was made illegal for a reason...didnt make it the right choice.
6
Except that reason was to harass mexicans not anything to do with its merits or dangers
6
@MPA --- The latest research on marijuana and metabolic health confirms years of previous research showing that marijuana consumers have lower BMI, total cholesterol, and blood pressure, and higher good cholesterol, than non-users. Marijuana users are also less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. So marijuana use leads to better metabolic health overall This effect goes away after one month of abstinence from marijuana.
https://norml.org/news/2019/01/03/long-term-cannabis-use-associated-with-lower-bmi
2
Not surprising at all. Glad to see the gangs maintain a popular revenue source.
9
@DavidLibraryFan Me too. so happy stoners needs to visit their drug dealers for marijuana. What makes you think illegal drug dealers would lose business had marijuana been legalized?? Ask Colorado. The US has losers in this country who keep drug dealers busy. The rest of us are working, raising families, getting an education and are of sound mind.
2
Forget big tobacco, alcohol and pharma, I’ll bet it was the illegal drug dealers who paid off the dissenting lawmakers. They’re the ones who benefit the most by keeping this *relatively harmless* substance illegal.
11
You gotta love New Jersey
They have the best government money can buy.
12
The attempt to legalize marijuana is almost comical it wasn't so sad. Linking mass incarceration to legalization is a pathetic attempt to use a social/personal problem for financial gain. When will we stop using people of color for our personal gain? Never... if marijuana is legalized under false pretexts.
4
Off the top of my head these are industries who have a stake in keeping marijuana illegal. You can add to the list. The fix is in
Private prisons
Prison guards
Drug companies
Alcohol companies
Probably plenty more.
34
@New World
You forgot to mention the 6 % increase in DUIs in States that legalized dope, I guess that ok with you...and I'm no Doctor but in would surprise if there would be an increase in cancer rates from smoking dope. Big Tobacco is behind the lobbyists pushing this issue and we all know how trustworthy they are.
3
@New World You forgot drug dealers such as gangs that have kids on street corners peddling pot.
Washington legalized pot years ago and the high-school/college kids in my building always bug me for pot because they can't find it on the streets anymore. They can find Oxy's on the street corner at the bus stop but pot dealers disappeared when the stores opened and dropped the prices so low that they could not compete. Street gangs and drug dealers do NOT want to see legalization. The state is collecting hundreds of millions per year in taxes which tells you that there are quite a few dollars changing hands.
2
@Joe You stand correct and yes marijuana has higher carcinogenic agents than tobacco. The sleazy tobacco companies killed so many people and now they want to jump on the bandwagon
1
Good. Jersey has got enough problems with gun violence, unemployment,drug addiction,homelessness etc... The last thing it needs is to legalize weed to add to its problems. Instead of focusing on all the $ it will generate. Focus on all its current problems before you add another one. Hopefully, NY will crash and burn with the push to legalize also.
9
Talk about failing to act in the best interests of your own constituents by holding out for more and more....?
"The sweeping bill sought to redress what its supporters say are the consequences of the war on drugs on minorities ... Supporters of legalization say stringent drug laws have unfairly targeted minorities ... black lawmakers saying they will block the implementation of the potential $3 billion statewide industry if the current bill does not ensure that minority entrepreneurs share in the profits."
3
You know the Left is cannibalizing itself when marijuana legalization fails due to insufficient affirmative action.
21
@mfh33
It's called "being politically and morally consistent." Is that still a thing anyone on the Right can understand in the wild wooly world of Trump?
1
Legislators are cowards. The only way recreational marijuana has been made law is by putting it on the ballot like was done in every other state.
12
Yes, better to keep it illegal so we can have ongoing arrests prejudiced against black youth, no tax revenue from sales, no controls on quality with growers, and a thriving black market marijuana industry that you can find, with very little time and effort, in any small, medium or big city in the country. Let's keep the drug war going, it's worked so well for so many years.
Thank you NJ legislature for going against the will of the people. Look around you, it's the way to be - guns, border wall, universal med care, abortion, Max 8.
Yay America! Proudly behind the times and staying that way.
9
bunch of squares on the east coast. You guys will catch up one day.
5
@Josh lol, it took you guys long enough to catch up:) See you at Hempfest this year.
2
“In my heart, and from my experience, I know the detriment it’s going to cause long term in urban communities in particular,” Senator Ronald L. Rice, a Democrat from Newark, said in an interview this year. “We know the health problems that are going to be created and no one wants to accept that fact.”
Incarceration is better? So disappointing that opposition is coming from the black community. The existing marijuana laws are one of the bedrock policing tools for keeping YBM’s (young black men) locked up.
9
@Peter Billionaire Gang controlling drug sales in his district is probably his biggest contributor and they are experts at getting the vote out- or not.
1
I have to think that any Democrat voted against this was just bribed by some other industry. Politics at its worst.
5
Big pharma and Budweiser fixed it but good.
7
Can't sell pot, can't, apparently, accomplish squat.
New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation. If I owned a house in New Jersey, I'd be outraged by this.
5
@August Wes
I agree, but with the Mueller report's release, all my outrage dedicated brain cells are in use.
Also, why lower our property taxes when we can keep funding the drug cartels and keep arresting black kids and ruining their lives.
2
I don't agree as some are saying here that the 'public safety' of marijuana is a farcical argument in a country where alcohol and tobacco is legal. Unlike alcohol, the effects of marijuana, both positive and negative, have not been largely studied precisely because marijuana was illegal. So if you want to argue for the legalization of medical marijuana than fine, but I think it is irresponsible to release marijuana to the general public before knowing its long-term effects on people. There will surely be a myriad of problems if we release marijuana freely onto the public. Already in CA, there have been increased instances of car crashes and subsequent deaths from people driving while high. We are setting up a situation where in a few years, we will need to have Mothers Against High Drivers. We need to be very careful whenever the motive for legalizing something is financial as it is clearly here. These politicians want tax revenue and not any type of real retributive justice, and it will not create justice; it will create more money for those who already have capital to start a business. When opioids were first introduced to doctors, pharmaceutical companies told them that opioids had no long-term effects on humans and now look at the situation. And as a side note: tobacco only affects the individual smoker and people who breathe in second-hand smoke; it is not a mind-altering drug and should not be compared to marijuana.
12
Never used marijuana so I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other but it does seem that we ruin a lot of young lives with criminal records involving marijuana.
For the people in NJ if they don't legalize it, it will probably soon be a short drive to NY, PA or DE to be able buy it legally and the tax revenues will go there.
If that happens, NJ will be scrambling to legalize and grab their own tax dollars.
14
This is a terrible outcome for New Jersey. In Oregon, within two years of legalization it was estimated that 20,000 jobs had been created. We only have 2% black population so it is not surprising that most jobs in the industry here went to white investors. I'd imagine it's the same in Colorado. California has gone out of its way to make sure that blacks shared in the profits of the legal marijuana market.
Now we have so much marijuana here that the price is plummeting and people in the industry are going broke. The last estimate was that there are over 4 ounces for every man woman and child in the state and that was before last year's harvest. There is over a million pounds of excess marijuana here. There is no reason to think that people are going to get rich from marijuana sales especially when you consider that people here can grow four plants with no licensing or registration and those who do so frequently give it away to people they know for free.
New Jersey could have used the jobs this measure would have generated. Black and white, it makes no difference, those with a mind to do so are going to find and consume marijuana legal or not.
13
@JW
Lets all move o Oregon.!!
2
Does anyone have a list of representatives against this effort? I want to make sure my local representative hears my support to legalize.
10
@Kevin Star Ledger had a list over the weekend, I don't recall all of them but I know my State Senator in Camden County, James Beach (D), was a "hard no". I believe Ronald Rice and Bob Andrzejczak were two of the Democrats in opposition. Dawn Marie Addiego who recently switched from R to D also opposed.
1
The future of marijuana legalization, in New Jersey and elsewhere, is not actually in doubt. The future is, it will be made legal for recreational and industrial use (hemp is tremendously useful in all sorts of ways).
The current status is, it's been postponed for a bit. When the older, more conservative generation dies out, in ten to twenty years at most, then marijuana will be made legal. In more progressive states, it will be and has been made legal already.
Either way, millions of people use marijuana recreationally in New Jersey today, and the law is incapable of changing that.
13
Anyone who wants to buy marijuana in the US can, whether we legalize it or not. The "war on drugs" has proved beyond doubt that the notion of legal prohibition in this case is totally naive. Millions incarcerated, millions in taxpayer revenue wasted and the result is ZERO.
Some people seem concerned that in legalizing Marijuana, we greatly increase its use, but based on experiences in CO and CA, the increase seems marginal and mostly amongst older people. What legalizing will allow us to do is fully test the long-term health implications for users, to make tax revenue and to regulate its sale and distribution. Moreover, if cigarettes are anything to go by, understanding the health implications and spending some of the tax revenue to insure people are aware of, and cognizant of the implications is the way to deter use. Furthermore, where Marijuana use goes up, alcohol use tends to drop - since the latter is widely recognized to be far more dangerous, this can only be a good thing.
8
@GBP good analysis and very accurate.
Just so we're clear here on who voted for what. Those who supported legalization had a pretty clear goal.
Those who voted against legalization CLAIM they oppose cannabis. But to say that they actually are doing anything beyond superficially voting against it with that vote is fallacious. They are in fact voting in favor of continuing state-sponsorship of a vast blackmarket in cannabis in preference to a government-regulated market.
No one believes the lie that government action can suppress cannabis. That was long ago the assertion, but it's been clear for decades that cannabis is not going away, no matter how oppressive measures against it may be.
A vote against legalization is a vote in favor of criminal enterprise. It's a vote in favor of the cartels, who are one major source of supply. It's also a vote in favor of allowing the corrupting force of organized crime to affect such institutions as the police, the courts, and, ahem, the legislators.
So don't let those who voted against legislation get away with claiming they're tough on crime. They're not. They're actually pretty good at coddling criminals, lining their pockets with cash, and building a distribution system that funnels actually dangerous drugs into our neighborhoods, because crooks have no need to check cards for age when they sell.
19
There are valid reasons for why people worry about marijuana legalization. To not understand their concerns and simply call them criminal coddlers is narrow-minded.
5
@Deanna
Yes, there are some points of concern for a few individuals. Families dealing with an individual like that need to have this out in the open, not dealt with furtively because of illegality.
Those concerns can be addressed in the context of legalization. We deal with alcohol, a far more dangerous substance. There's evem a pretty good argument that access to cannabis helps lessen the demand for more dangerous substances like alcohol and opioids. The net effect, even taking in the harm suffered by a few due specifically to cannabis, is that legalization will actually save lives.
I don't doubt the good intent of most who argue against legalization. But continuing with prohibition does no one any good and definitively harms many, including a disproportionate number of people of color. There is no discernible good that can be identified as resulting from prohibition.
Intent matters far less than results and the results of prohibition are no longer tolerable in a just society that really cares about every one of us.
3
Our neighbors to the west have demonstrated some much needed common sense.
There are no randomized, placebo controlled studies ever published demonstrating real medical benefits to cannabis.
Cannabis and its association with precipitating mental illness is still being worked out but it appears that there is an enormous risk, over 5 fold, from regular high THC potency cannabis in precipitating first time psychotic breaks and later development of schizophrenia.
We are in the midst of an epidemic of addiction. Cannabis is harmful to the developing mind of the adolescent. Up to 30% of those under 18 who use recreational marijuana develop a marijuana use disorder and there is a more than 6 fold increase in later opioid addiction in those who begin in adolescence as "wake and bake stoners" and then go on to chase that next high. In addition, States which have legalized cannabis use have been reporting increased hospitalization for acute psychosis from cannabis in all age groups and pediatricians have noted a surge in hospitalizations for cannabis toxicity in young children who have consumed edibles.
Law enforcement has reported an unexpected increased burden in dealing with regulation and enforcement related to black market cannabis sales and police have also noted increased traffic fatalities related to driving under the influence of cannabis. These black market cannabis sales have of course not gone into the state coffers, as promised. The money has gone to organized crime.
5
@thewiseking
Links and proofs please.
1
So the gist of the story is that when marijuana is illegal, minorities are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement, but when it's legalized, white people disproportionately benefit from the new revenue opportunities. How about that.
Also, I agree with everyone in the comments who suggested that 'public safety' is a farcical argument in a country where alcohol and tobacco is legal.
17
Please remember States like the Great State of New Jersey, that "legalization" of cannabis, is not necessarily marketing and sales of cannabis but rather the DE - CRIMINALIZATION of cannabis possession. That's totally different.
Most of California is not enthused about the selling and consumption of marketed cannabis, but is just fine with de-criminalizing the possession of it.
My California recommendation is to take baby steps. After all it took California more than twenty years to get to the point where cannabis could be openly sold and marketed. We still are not in the clear - it is a cash only business which makes it entirely subject to be attacked by criminals.
I don't consume cannabis as a note.
But that stated, frisking people for having a joint in their pocket is a waste of Police and Municipal resources. No one should go to jail because they "possessed" some cannabis. A major haul of it is a different matter.
Also, I understand that Oklahoma is doing well with its legalization of cannabis.
There should be a state blue-print for transitioning from not legal to legal cannabis.
Also, no one is going crazy in California due to legal cannabis. My understanding is that the product is expensive and potent and those two factors probably curb cannabis use.
6
There is a tremendous black market for California cannabis. The drug is being illegally shipped out of State into other states. This activity, which benefits organized crime and siphons any and all local benefits to California communities and coffers to organized crime, has even caused market prices for "legitimate growers" here on the East Coast to crash.
Legal recreational drugs are likely to end up a lot like legal casinos. After a brief honeymoon period, the state is likely to realize they have sanctioned a social ill that attracts other forms of crime. The state budget, however, will become addicted to the tax revenue levied through specific sin taxes, making the state a de facto partner that will have strong incentives to protect these regrettable businesses no matter what harm they cause.
It seems that legalizing for medical use and decriminalizing (reducing penalties in most cases to fines and confiscation) do not have these problems, because they do not have the same tax revenue implications and can be curtailed if they become problematic.
22
Hmm.
There are many large Pharma Corps located in- NJ. Let me guess which ones cozied up to legislators to convince them it wasn't in 'their best financial interest' to legalize NJ marijuana.
What inquiring minds want to know is how many of these legislators own Pharma stock.
Explains a lot. Also explains why America can't get any traction on passing Universal health care legislation. Conflict of financial interest. America the exceptional. Not.
32
Moving to legalize and codify recreational marijuana is no easy task. Many people and states may never support such legalization for their own legitimate reasons. At this point in time New Jersey and 45 other states maintain the status quo. The demand will still be there. Loosely organized and organized groups will continue to supply that demand. Those that purchase or supply illegal marijuana will continue to face incarceration.
Some commentators have pointed fingers at lobbying efforts by interested monied parties in opposition. There is another large monied lobbying force out there. Legal industrial marijuana producers are flexing their muscles and scooping up as much of the market as they can. There are cutthroats in this business like any in this country engaging in maximizing their profits without regard to their impacts. It's all just business unless you are facing unjustified time in jail.
7
These industrial growers do not care for you or your children or any perceived benefit to the black community. They are chasing a quick buck at our nations expense.
1
Let's put this on the ballot for the next election and make it legal. Then the politicians can make rules about dispensaries, taxation, expungement, etc.
30
New Jersey doesn't have the initiative process for ballot measures does it? Without initiative power the voters have to motivate the legislature to refer a matter to the people for a popular vote.
Once again legislators fail to enact laws that are widely supported by their constituents. States where recreational marijuana is legal have been reaping the benefits since day one. With legalization, everybody wins, and NJ's plan was especially progressive. I'm so sorry to hear that so many politicians have acted in such bad faith.
28
@Bucky
I think the other states which don't have "recreational" legalized cannabis products think that cannabis is widely available throughout the State.
This is not so in California. In fact, where it is sold, the "dispensaries" are hidden, barracaded, funky, way out in the middle of no where, sort of ominous, and they copy people's driver's licenses. It is not private at all, even if seeking CBD.
Most of the cities in California banned cannabis sales.
I don't think States like New Jersey quite know this.
And yet the State made a ton of money in my opinion from cannabis sales. But still less than the State wanted. Ugh.
3
Everybody wins?
Here's whats happening where cannabis is legalized:
Adolescent users are at increased risk for depression, suicide and psychotic breaks. Automobile fatalities have risen. Spikes in hospital and ICU admissions are being reported for ingested edibles. Law enforcement is reporting an unanticipated increased burden from cannabis due to the need to go after the black market growers and distributors. Of course, the money has NOT gone into state coffers to benefit education and infrastructure. It has gone to organized crime.
4
Sorry, but a Governor who can't get things though his own party's legislature isn't a very effective Governor.
7
Please re-read this article if your upset that the measure failed. Listen to people of color explain their fears that legalized pot will harm their constituents disproportionately. If your for social justice, as most thoughtful readers are, expunge first, decriminalize and have a legalization conversation later. Tying legalization to setting people free is kinda strange.
9
@Ed Latimer
ED - Sacramento is predominantely people of color, African American. So far, since legalization of cannabis in 2018, no major incidents in any population have occured in the Sacramento area that can tie cannabis to bad or criminal behavior.
If anything, things have calmed down a bit.
Many prominent African Americans are pushing for more cannabis businesses and seek licenses to do so.
It's 180 degrees from the fears in New Jersey.
We have less opiod abuse in California all the way around until you reach the edges of the State such as the city of Humboldt. The entire Pacific Coast has a huge meth amphetamine abuse problem. And it is not created by legal cannabis consumption.
13
They should both be done, concurrently.
They are not tied together.
If you are truly concerned that legalization will impact minority neighborhoods, then you should be trying to outlaw the sale of alcohol and tobacco in New Jersey. Alcohol also negatively impacts the black community. It is no different than cannabis.
I'm glad you'll be writing letters to all those currently serving sentences in NJ for marijuana "offenses". I'm sure they will understand. And support...
4
How dare these corrupt politicians tell us what we can and can not put in our bodies. Oh well, they must be getting paid off by the Alcohol and Pharmaceutical industries, as well as the black market dealers. It is embarrassing that pot is still illegal in so many places.
19
@Chris from PA. You don’t even live in New Jersey.
1
Take a survey of any prison asking how many individuals were intoxicated on alcohol at the time of their offense. The answer won't surprise you. People do violent, reckless, dangerous things when drunk. They don't tend to do those things when they smoke marijuana. Alcohol kills countless Americans and destroys families. Marijuana can awaken psychosis in the highly susceptible and can cause strokes in rare cases. Alcohol withdrawal can cause fatal delirium tremens; marijuana "withdrawal" gives you a day's worth of insomnia. The score sheet isn't close.
There's a simple reason that marijuana is illegal whereas alcohol is not. Alcohol is an opiate of the masses -- how angry would the average American be if he couldn't find a way to rediscover oblivion every weekend? Alcohol deadens thought and strengthens base impulses. Marijuana makes you sit on a couch and wonder why Hot Pockets are heated up to exactly two minutes and thirty seconds. The difference in mindset could not be more clear.
41
Smart, NJ. You just saved yourself from the stench of skunk pot in your parks, streets, apartment buildings, stores, playgrounds, elementary schools etc.
And from huge billboards, including within a few blocks of elementary and high schools advertising pot shops and pushing potency.
And from lots more people filling their cars with pot smoke and driving under the influence and almost hitting people and cars.
All this and more is what happened and is happening in numerous CA communities.
27
@Been there, if you're worried about capitalism, commercialism and consumerism... why single out marijuana?
8
Those states that have legalized it need to put limits on where it’s smoked and advertised. We banned cigarettes in parks and tobacco/alcohol billboards. Can we please be smart about cannabis? We don’t go around chugging beer in the street...
3
@Been there
I don't know your local, but the southern routes I traverse, ie. SD, Riverside 'n OC, the conditions you...imply are rampant, don't exist from my experience.
I've also pedaled the coastal route border to border multiple times, and again, your examples don't ring true to my travels. Though will admit Eureka was an easy place to score in days of old.
2
In the end, tens of thousands of Black teenagers, arrested for small amounts of pot and incarcerated meant less than legalizing pot and allowing it to be marketed by a widely White controlled industry.
This is the classic example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Pot will continue to be an uncontrolled, untaxed, readily available, non-addictive, illegal drug that will, in New Jersey, continue to put more kids in jail.
Amazing that this bill was shot down by Black representatives in my state.
Shame on them.
24
They know what is good for their kids better than you do. Sure, there is a huge buck to be made off legalized cannabis but the price is our children's future.
1
Time to vote out of office thee law makers that voted no on this.
20
Black and white.
Oh, man...N.J. getting some quality smoke and then ...politicians.
As Lenny Bruce might say - "Bummer"!
6
Interesting who opposes this. https://www.republicreport.org/2012/marijuana-lobby-illegal/
3
For the love of God, when a black man is thrown in prison for possession or even dealing a gram of a plant tonight, don't blame racism.
11
What a stupid decision. Marijuana is already a thriving underground market. If legalized, we could all benefit from the revenue. Yet these narrow minded obstructionists who think of nobody but themselves, threw the whole possibility of better schools, better roads, better environment. People will smoke pot whether it's legal or not. It's better to have it above board than mafia run or gang run. So short sighted.
26
@Joanna Stelling
I’m not necessarily against legalization, but we can’t pretend marijuana legalization is going to be a panacea for our states’ financial problems. When they break it down, states don’t make that much money from legalizing weed. And there is no proof that it will deter gangs from selling it. After all, if the mafia or gangs can avoid taxes and sell it cheaper than the stores sell it for, there will still be a market for them.
3
@Joanna Stelling Please visit Denver Co and saw drug addicts shooting needles in the beautiful municipal city square in broad daylight. I ran back to my hotel and could not wait to go home. We don't want revenues from marijuana as it will cause more problems, addictions than it's worth.
1
Whenever I go to the Medical Dispensary half the people there now are between 60 and 90. I'm so glad they get the relief they deserve without Big Pharmy making billions. Social justice requires we lend a hand to those hard working people who simply need a break (not all of us had our father's give us 200 million at age 14) to all you Trump-etts out there pulling your hair out because licenses will be distributed more evenly. Proud of you NJ, keep it up Governor.
4
It's truly baffling that so many legislators have chosen to support illegal drug dealers.
As if residents of New Jersey are going to stop buying and using marijuana?
The bottom line of these politicians' tortured arguments: illegal drug dealers will continue to reap millions of dollars from New Jersey residents, money that could have gone for a variety of beneficial programs.
Very odd that they have opted to side with illegal drug dealers against their own state.
26
Marijuana is over used by some people and it affects their lives poorly but felony arrests for possession and distribution also ruins lives.
11
Typical NJ politics. Given that everything is legal if you dont get caught here, especially for our corrupt politicians, one must think there were other motives behind the no votes. Clearly alcohol, tobacco, and e-cigarettes are more of a health risk than marijuana.
Also, who knows, perhaps this would have been the economic engine to help people earn a better living. And dont get me started on the social justice issues.
But hey, why look for ways to raise revenue, NJ can always just raise taxes.....
8
''the bill would have wiped away criminal records for hundreds of thousands of people convicted of minor drug offenses. It would also have given many in jail the chance to be set free and end parole for many others.''
For that reason alone it should have passed. White kids get PBJ or diversion.
The corner store liquor industry was making itself heard.
12
New Jersey has been utterly failed by it's lawmakers today. Vote them out! Having a D next to your name means nothing if you're not willing to stand up for progressive values.
7
The top news coming out of New Jersey shouldn't be about legalizing pot, it should be about fixing NJTransit, There should be daily updates on the progress until it's fixed!
11
@CMP we should put pot-smoking lounge cabooses on all the trains to finance upgrades. It would keep the smokers off the roads as a bonus.
2
Why does it always have to be about profit in the US? Take a look at what Spain Has decided. If you don't want to smoke it don't.
12
As a former daily smoker who quit over 6 years ago I think my over 35 years experience counts probably more than people who do not realize that the strains that are sold today are literally 20 times more THC than the Mexican dirt weed I grew up with in the 70's. I believe that it is a gateway drug and does sap motivation. I personally think we don't need a bunch of people driving around after smoking purple Kush or eating a brownie and going out driving before it kicks in. I believe that this is a lazy way out of solving government problems. A hundred or two hundred million isn't going to make a dent in our problems and I believe the costs to society will be much greater. We have the most densely populated state and very congested roadways already plagued by texting while driving and cell phone distractions. Let's not add to the pile of problems this state has already. This is not a panacea. Disclaimer: I am not the reformed alcoholic shredding people that smoke but know what happens when you smoke super potent weed and many people that haven't have no idea it's distortion in the brain it can create especially in novice users. I am socially liberally but fiscally conservative but I believe that we should say No and thanks for those that killed this.
19
@Robert
Alcohol, omnipresent in our society, is so much more dangerous and corrosive, your argument isn't one worth making. Or heeding.
9
@Robert Imagine how much healthier we would be if we prohibited alcohol! Oh right people would still use it just like they do weed. Just cause it is legal does not mean it would be legal to drive on it.
7
@Robert, stronger strains means you can smoke less for the same effect. complaining about THC content is like complaining about barleywines having high ABV when all you grew up barely counted as yeast-water.
8
Drug dealers in New Jersey must be rejoicing. The effort to put them out of business just clasped.
39
What makes you think it would have put them out of business when the stuff they sell is tax free and therefore so much cheaper? Dealers are the ones who undercut legit sellers.
1
“I’m impressed that it has a strong criminal justice part in it,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said. Al Sharpton was in favor of it because he wanted a piece of the action. I find it incredible that the racial inequity statistics quoted about drug convictions leave out facts like the type of crime. 8x as many blacks as whites commit murder (Federal statistics). Should we decriminalize murder??? Social justice and marijuana legalization will bring economic growth to Trenton and Patterson? It will lead to more dope heads who don't even bother thinking about getting a job.
3
Seriously Jersey? Is this the biggest issue facing the state? How about job opportunities and lowering taxes? Then I’d consider moving back.
5
@In the know
Legalizing cannabis would provide jobs and lower taxes. Just sayin'.
3
@Jake News it would generate tax revenue which would most likely prevent tax increases. And there are plenty of other potential opportunities (ie tech) than growing cannabis or working in a dispensary. Which, btw, would only be able to pay you in cash. Let's also see what happens after the novelty wears off and medical marijuana is recognized as a legitimate form of medicine by the FDA.
1
For those that are pro-legalisation, let’s hope that the early evidence that consumption causes psychosis prove to be a false alarm.
2
@Andrew It's patently not true. Correlation does not equal causation. We have 10000 years of experience with the plant, we would know by now if it caused psychosis.
3
@Andrew
There's no evidence that consumption *causes* psychosis. There is evidence in a link between cannabis use and those who are prone to psychosis. This could be because people who are prone to psychosis tend to self medicate, or it could be because it might trigger psychosis in those who are prone. But there is little evidence of a link in those who do not already have elevated risk of psychosis.
5
@Andrew The study you refer to is flawed. causation and correlation.
2
"In seeking to bring recreational marijuana to the doorstep of the nation’s biggest city, the bill would have wiped away criminal records for hundreds of thousands of people convicted of minor drug offenses. It would also have given many in jail the chance to be set free and end parole for many others.
The law also aimed to diversify a booming industry dominated by white entrepreneurs in the 11 other states and Washington D.C. where recreational marijuana has been decriminalized. New Jersey would have ensured that minorities, as well as women, have equal access to licenses to sell or cultivate cannabis."
Criminal records wiped away. Check.
Freedom for those affected by unjust enforcement. Check
Guarantee that minorities/women would have equal economic opportunity. Check.
But the problem was that it's a public health menace in African-American communities?!
I left NJ about 7 years ago and I'm starting to realize how wise that decision was. Democrats can't seem to enact laws even with overwhelming public support.
9
We elected Phil Murphy Governor knowing that the legalization of Cannabis was his priority.
The revenue that New Jersey would have gained from that law would have done wonders for our infrastructure, as well as creating countless jobs.
Wake up and catch up New Jersey legislature!
7
Perhaps Republicans did not want hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Black and Hispanic, exonerated and given back the right to vote.
Or maybe they just did not like the even playing field, a form of Reparations, proposed; unlike John Boehner, the last Republican Speaker of the House under Obama who obstructed all legislation that was pro-social justice and now advertises on television for marijuana companies he is making a fortune off of.
7
Who did Big Alcohol and Big PhRMA bribe in the New Jersey Legislature to help reject the will of the people of New Jersey ?
There is no reason to maintain the criminalization of marijuana.
Alcohol and prescription drugs are the big killers: ban them before cannabis.
What a crooked scam.
64
@Socrates
The alcohol and drug manufacturers bribed the politicians,
of course.
NJ has the best government money can buy.
7
@Socrates My dad has Multiple Sclerosis and his pain has improved with THC and CBD, so I thank the gods we live where we do. Oh, and yes, he gets up and goes to work every day.
14
@Socrates
You can add the private prison system to the list who bribe the NJ Legislature.
6
"...with some African-American lawmakers arguing that marijuana would be a public health menace to their communities."
Right...because keeping the marijuana market controlled by drug dealers is working beautifully. And the tens of thousands of minorities locked up for smoking pot in Newark has been tremendous for the private prison system. We don't want to mess that up do we?
22
"But the legalization effort had fractured the Democratic Party with some African-American lawmakers arguing that marijuana would be a public health menace to their communities."
As opposed to racially biased drug incarceration rates for African-Americans?
5
Well then why not make alcohol illegal again?
3
The answer is simple. New Jersey voters - let your representatives know how you feel. Communicate - letters, phone calls, demonstrations.
2
What is the social impact of thousands released from MJ imprisonment as far as jobs and housing?
1
@Rodrian Roadeye What are you suggesting?
@Fern That corporations do not hold their previous records against them and give them a fair chance, as well as training them for jobs using local aid.
the African American community is correcting its opposition to this drug being legalized. The evidence shows that by far more African-Americans or subjected to the negative effects of marijuana and Other Drugs then is the rest of the population. Instead of looking to legalize this drug for the sole purpose of increasing tax revenues why not embark on a public health message that all drugs including alcohol are dangerous to your health? Murphy is no Social Democrat
2
@anthony the danger that african americans face from the drug is the criminalization of it not the actual effects of the drug
3
"who despite having full Democratic control in the State Senate and the assembly, had faced constant party infighting." translation: Democrats can't help but form a circular firing squad the moment they win a majority in any legislative body.
3
jersey's decision makes me wonder if big nj pharm companies had something to do with it. it makes no sense on so many levels.
1
Way to surprise us New Jersey.
1
I will continue to smoke pot and support the black market until there is and alternative.
4
Prison industrial complex wins.
4
Your headline to this story (iPad app) says legalization effort “collapses”. But then the story just says legalization is being debated. Huh?
1
@Gary I haven't been following closely but I infer that a vote was scheduled but did not occur because leadership realized it would fail based on informal head counts. Scouring the NJ Legislature web site - which is difficult to navigate because of awful use of Javascript - I found S2703/A4497 to likely be the bills in question.
Of course, the author could have made this clear, but it's only the New York Times, so cut them some slack.
Weed's not legal in Manhattan either...
1
Hooray! NO to legal marijuana ...
3
I don’t see why this has to take months and what details need to be worked out. Just stop throwing people in cages for selling a plant and let them sell it like any other plant that’s legal. Jeez
2
Ah, this would be so enlightened! Thank you in advance, New Jersey, you are creating a model for ths rest of our States. Those harboring and encouraging the fear of “health issues” can now focus on tobacco.
Shouldn’t details about acceptable levels of cannabinoids in the blood while driving be established before legalization is established?
3
@John Morrison Retired H. S. Band Director, Metuchen
It stays in your system for 30 days.
3
Given the fatal mayhem we suffer here because, in part and only in part, of the US drug war, many in this nation support any efforts up north to curb demand for drugs produced, or passing through, here from south of Mexico. I wish you well, New Jersey.
1
Marijuana needs to be legalized yesterday.
Alcohol is a much greater threat to public safety by far.
But the idea of making marijuana an affirmative action employer program - while a good idea in theory - will likely be a political disaster in reality.
Just legalize it; the fact that it will be legal will decrease the number of police arrests of people of color significantly and free minorities from a lifetime of police harassment for marijuana possession.
It's 2019; stop dilly-dallying around and correct the racist marijuana laws that have harmed this country for 80 years.
5
@Socrates that's too simple. I agree, but I've been waiting several decades for sensibility to prevail and I expect it will just take longer. We've got bigger fish to fry. Unless, of course, you're a victim of drug prosecution.
2
Wonderful! Bring it on!
I'm about as surprised as finding Utah a front runner in the push for marriage equality. New Jersey doesn't seem like the place. But whatever, let's hope the bill passes. Even a more limited allowance for marijuana is worth eliminating minor drug charges.
There is one thing that concerns me though. We're witnessing a further bifurcation of US legal standards. You can smoke weed in one state but you can't have an abortion in another. I can cross a state line and my rights as a US citizen fundamentally change. We're effectively living in different countries as far as certain issues are concerned. I don't see this trend as a positive thing.
Where's the national consensus? I can't see the federal Congress ever passing the equivalent legislation so where does that leave our understanding of law. You can be convicted as a felon and prevented from voting for something legally permissible elsewhere.
It's like banning electric cars in Idaho and getting a traffic ticket because you needed to get your electric car from Colorado to California. This patchwork hodgepodge is a positive mess but it's still a mess.
1
The bill is dead, vote has been called off due to lack of support. Very disappointed at NJ politicians who were unable to pass a comprehensive and just bill, especially my state senator (Democrat) James Beach who was one of 'Hard No' votes on this. Sadly, we will most likely have wait until November 2020 to pass this via a ballot initiative.
2
Exoneration for people in possession of up to 5 pounds of marijuana is cleaning the slate of many drug dealers. Who would have 5 pounds for their own personal consumption?
2
I'm confused by the article. Did the bill pass, or not?
@Andy
No. It did not.
It's a shame that the representatives of black communities are opposed to ending the drug war that has ruined so many lives over the years.
If you want to limit police abuses or end mass incarceration, the drug war must be stopped.
Hiding behind public health concerns is highly disingenuous. Countries that have legalized or decriminalized like Portugal or Uruguay did not experience increases in use; often use has dropped.
Making it legal has enabled transparency to know where and how the plant is grown, with our without pesticides.
We have to ask why the black community isn't more aggressive in calling for an end to the drug war, rather than just treating the symptoms?
5
Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Legalizing marijuana would: clear the records and improve the job prospects of many thousands of folks, prevent many thousands of others from going to jail or otherwise suffering criminal penalties in the future, provide jobs in the newly legal industry and related businesses, yield significant tax revenues for the state, and facilitate appropriate medical use of the substance. Yes, there could be downsides, but they're far outweighed by the benefits of legalizing a substance that does far less harm than cigarettes or alcohol.
I can understand Republican legislators' opposition, as ill-informed and ideological as it is (though let's bear in mind that not all Republicans oppose legalization). But for Democratic legislators to sabotage a bill that would benefit so many constituents raises real questions about whom they're really working for.
10
I thought the bill was great until I read this (in the 2/19 NYT article MJ Tax in NJ), "Mr. Scutari said he did not anticipate many other major changes to the bill he sponsored last year that set the backbone for legal marijuana, including delivery, public lounges for consumers and prohibiting the growing of cannabis in homes."
Prohibiting homegrown weed? What gives? Then it hit me, this is much less about decrim than it is about addressing the fallout from economic transformations that continue to shock western industrialized societies; ie it's an attempt to stop the economic bleeding by creating a new industry, a regulatory oversight system (lots of high paying jobs there-also in research) and new tax revenue streams. But, just as the business models for the casino business had high barriers to entry which guaranteed only well-financed business schemes could succeed, with the wealth going to investors, the legal pot models nationwide have been pretty similar--companies probably have to spend $50-100k on experts before they can even build a growing facility. So NJ would have set aside 10% of the licenses for community people. Still, the overall bulk of the income is going to wealthy investors. The question is, who is the revenue coming from, the working, middle or upper class? And, if the from the first 2 groups, does the whole process have an unintended consequence of widening the wealth gap? And what happens to people who grow pot for theirselves, or to sell to friends?
2
@Paul Sometimes you can't have it all. It takes baby steps. If this past then the next reform would have been about homebrew.
3
As with many things in life, much is about perception.
Pot is labelled by some as a 'gateway drug', the choice of immature, irresponsible, directionless people, while minimal but regular alcohol use is considered simply 'normal'. Funny thing is though, there was a time when alcohol too was considered the drink of the devil, and was outlawed. Then at some point, the law was changed, and perceptions about alcohol began to shift. Now even the most 'upstanding' of citizens can partake of alcohol now and then, with their images intact. Alcohol is actually expected and demanded to be available, at pretty much any and all restaurants, sporting events, public performance spaces, parties, etc. Alcohol is widely promoted and advertised on TV, billboards, magazines, sporting events, etc.
It's only a matter of time for us to similarly change the perception of marijuana.
5
Legalizing marijuana is just a money grab. The law does not allow an individual to grow marijuana like some other states. Now if you are a user the crime is minor, I assume. Once the law passes illegal use will be a major tax issue. The state will be all over adherence to the law to ensure maximum tax collection. For users it may be better if the current system remains.
3
Agreed. Studies are now showing that current high power cannabis causes a 4 fold increase in mental illness. Need we say more. Great job NJ stand up for kids. Making this a human rights issue was truly shocking.
5
@Brooks Clark That's why it's "adult use". Kids will still get it on the street (or if you're white, from your dad's stash). This has nothing to do with standing up for kids, and everything to do with a knee-jerk, emotionally driven response.
6
@Brooks Clark O please. No one ever died from smoking pot. Approx 88,000 deaths a year are attributed to alcohol. And pretty much anyone can drink. Have it delivered. Advertise on tv. How many women have had their drinks spiked in bars - those places where people gather to drink a toxic substance that can potentially kill you.
5
Marijuana endangers public health? So does cigarettes and alcohol but it's legal and can be sold to anyone who's an adult (18 or 21 years old). We have to treat marijuana like we treat alcohol. You need to be an adult and you can’t operate heavy machinery or drive while under it.
51
@George Gu Agreed. Also, make it easy for those who want to avoid temptation to do so: ban most kinds of advertising, make sure it's only sold in somewhat out-of-the-way places. Sort of like how you'd avoid taking a friend struggling with alcoholism through a bar. But don't criminalize it.
1
Thank you S. Rice. I do not want to be the only Dem siding with the R’s. The primary consideration in consideration of the legal status of marijuana should be the health risks that are posed as a consequence of the legal status. Like so many people do not realize the seriousness of the threat to wellbeing of their children as a result of communities allowing false information about vaccinations to override sound medical advice, many people underestimate the threat of harm from marijuana use, largely due to efforts to characterize it as “medicine “. It has very narrow and rare applications in medicine.
6
Just because something is unhealthy does not mean it should be illegal and that those who do unhealthy things should be put in prison.
5
@Eleanor Harris
Is that right?
... the legal status of _________ should be the health risks that are posed as a consequence of the legal status.
You fill in the blank. You fill it in with tobacco. You fill it in with alcohol. You fill it in with sugar.
The fact is that cannabis didn't just appear in 1937, for it to be taxed so high that no one could afford to grow it, then was made illegal. It's been cultivated and ingested by people for millennia.
5
@Ok I will agree with you that marijuana should be decriminalized. In many jurisdictions, it has been, but it needs to be officially decriminalized to protect minorities from unjust persecution. Also, I am encouraged by efforts to release prisoners who are only guilty of marijuana possession. However, laws to legalize marijuana for recreational use often combine the issues because the advocates apparently don’t have faith in the strength of a straight up bill on the question of recreational use alone.
I guess it’s time to criminalize alcohol and cigarettes if public health is a concern. It is really tragic to miss the opportunity to stop incarnating nonviolent offenders and freeing those who are unjustly in jail.
These arguments against legalizing here are hard to rationalize.
140
@Dave It really has little to nothing to do with "legalizing" and everything to do with "commercializing." Legalizing is one thing, commercializing is another.
4
Don’t forget fast food and soda pop. They’re more dangerous by far than pot. Fortunately I live in region where people came to their senses about the costs of prohibition compared to the benefits of sensible regulation, where opiate abuse has actually declined significantly. We have yet to hear of a fatal cannabis overdose. Consumption of chocolate chip cookies and cold milk, however, has seen a marked increase, wreaking havoc on the healthcare delivery system. TOC
12
@JerseyGirl
Commercializing is what happens in this country when there is demand for a good or service. Legalizing without commercializing is not going to happen, unless you don't actually legalize production, in which case you lose the benefit of undercutting the black market, with the benefits to public safety and reduced costs in the justice system that come along with that.
4
They just need a few more votes in the Senate...I think this will happen eventually.
Murphy will get it done. He's doing a great job as Governor.
16
@SarahK
He's an enormous flop. Wait until the 2020 budget mess starts due to shortcomings in revenue assumptions.
6
Hopefully this is just Sweeney showing the Governor how business is done in this state! When it is time for the budget to be voted on, this issue will come up again and Sweeney will get the votes he needs!
1
Regarding any vice or dangerous object like this the best way to treat it is legality, regulation, responsibility and non promotion.
It worked miracles with drunk driving and cig. smoking and has been a miserable failure with gun deaths since we did not employ the formula.
This is the way the Gov. should approach it next year.
12
Marijuana would be legal in every state if our politicians weren't on the "payrolls" of the alcohol and RX drug lobby. The first step should be that Congress amend the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and take marijuana off the list.
88
@Joe Berger
It wouldn't have helped if Obama hadn't been such a hypocrite about MJ.He used it quite a bit in his youth but refused to have it reclassified even after re-election in 2012. Pro or anti MJ nobody in full command of their mental faculties thinks MJ belongs in the same sprt of classification as heroin does.
15
@RJM
I'm against full legalization but for decriminalization. I agree entirely that it is a less harmful drug and should be available as part of medical/scientific research to better understand it and its effects (both desirable and not).
1
There are many who stand in the way of progress and many of them choose politics as a profession. Keeping things illegal that people enjoy is the true criminal act.
32
@Lonnie
Quite a few people enjoy committing rape and I'm quite happy to keep that illegal. Some even take great joy in murder and violent assault. Something being enjoyable is not grounds for legalizing it.
2
Something smells off here. Feels like some powerful special interest has gotten to some of the urban Democrats who voted against the bill. Could it be the alcohol industry spearheaded by Budweiser (who has a huge factory in Newark)? Or maybe pharma who has a major presence throughout the state? Maybe the tobacco industry which primarily targets minority consumers?
One (or all) of these industries probably sees legal pot as a threat to their businesses in NJ, and more importantly, NYC. Someone should look into these politicians’ donor rolls to see who they accepted campaign money from, because the vote they just cast makes no sense for their constituents.
130
@Clayton alas Ronald Rice took almost $15,000 combined from pharma, tobacco, and alcohol in the 2017 election and another $10,000 from education. He also took PBA and real estate money. There's your answer to the 'no' vote.
46
@Clayton The assumption is that every person of color supports increased drug usage in their communities by legalizing marijuana. I'm not surprised at all by those representatives absolutely distrusting that members of their communities would not only continue to be targeted for drug arrests at higher rates; but that their communities would not benefit at all from free enterprise, regardless of promises. Also, I'd be interested in understanding why reducing the penalties for marijuana use/possession, if not sale, has to be tied to decriminalizing and legalizing it.
3
Selling interests of your constituents to the highest bidder. I hope this becomes clear to the people before they vote in the next elections.
One can argue the harmful health effects of cannabis, but with alcohol and tobacco already legal, the point is and always has been moot. Who stands to lose the most from legalization? Follow the money.
89
@Eduard Vaykher
Exactly. MJ is a sacred cash cow for organized crime. And we all know organized crime runs New Jersey.
8
Once again New Jersey falls woefully behind the times and will be forgotten by the time it is legalized across the country. They missed out on hundreds of millions in tax revenue and many lucrative customers from New York.
Oh, and those who stand against common sense legalization, beware: You will be receiving a pink slip in the near future.
115
You missed one of the key point to the cure, ie if you obsess about revenue you promote it like we do with gambling.
See my post.
Regarding any vice or dangerous object like this the best way to treat it is legality, regulation, responsibility and non promotion.
It worked miracles with drunk driving and cig. smoking and has been a miserable failure with gun deaths since we did not employ the formula.
This is the way the Gov. should approach it next year.
9
Cannabis is already in plentiful supply all over the state, tax-free, with markets deciding the price. Organized crime makes up for any supply shortages, after private growers and importers from states where it is legal. Guess what beach towns? It always been for sale there in the summer, untaxed, unregulated, no age requirement, no tests for pesticides. The market will be flooded by those sources now that New Jersey governments have decided they don’t want the $100 million in additional annual tax revenue. Meanwhile Colorado, California and Washington state are seeing big declines in drug overdoses. New Jersey medical cannabis is quite easy to obtain but few bother, better quality is always available at lower prices, statewide. Disappointing but not surprising New Jersey government is unaware of any of this common knowledge.
152
@S. Holmes
$100 million in new "revenue" wouldn't go anywhere except to raises for the politicians tasked with voting for it.
2
@S. Holmes
The huge scare of increased DWI rates have failed to materialize in the states that have legalized it.In fact some studies say dwi rates are down.
18
@S. Holmes
Having pot legalized in NJ would have been about much more than access. This from the article:
"...the bill would have wiped away criminal records for hundreds of thousands of people convicted of minor drug offenses. It would also have given many in jail the chance to be set free and end parole for many others.
The law also aimed to diversify a booming industry dominated by white entrepreneurs in the 11 other states and Washington D.C. where recreational marijuana has been decriminalized. New Jersey would have ensured that minorities, as well as women, have equal access to licenses to sell or cultivate cannabis."
11
This would be a huge step in the right direction. Bravo NJ!
14
@The Black Millennial I guess I “spoke” too soon.
1
New Jersey has gone insane. The govt. is now going to decides who gets a license to sell marijuana based on skin color or socioeconomic background? And the notion that there are significant numbers of people who have been convicted and incarcerated in New Jersey merely for possessing marijuana for personal use is a myth. Notice how the article is phrased to talk about convictions for "marijuana-related" offenses, which means that we're actually talking about people who have been caught distributing marijuana or possessing with intent to distribute, i.e., drug dealers. The article also does not discuss how convictions for "marijuana-related offenses" are typically the result of plea bargaining, i.e., a defendant, usually a dealer, facing charges for more serious offenses will plead down to a "simple" marijuana related charge; thus, it's not the case that a person pleading guilty to such charge had done nothing other than possess a joint for their own use, which is what this article implies. The powers-to-be in New Jersey can't competently run the state, and the productive people are all fleeing for places with lower taxes, and yet they're falling over themselves to expunge the records of drug dealers. Unbelievable.
33
@R.P.
All true, but legalizing it will do more good than it does harm. A small step in the right direction is always worth making.
52
@R.P. That's correct. People convicted of doing somethng that is now completely legal would have their record cleaned. Why would that be odd? Businesses would be set up to sell and distribute marijuana legally. So, the crime for which these people would still be paying for, would not exist and in fact, would now be a respected business serving the needs of New Jersey residents. Unless you are a very rare and unusual person, you have probably used marijuana yourself at some point in your life. So you partook in the business as a consumer. In fact, essentially all New Jersey residents between the ages of 12 and 65 have used marijuana illegally and suffered no consequence either healthwise, or in terms of their criminal record. What I find particularly odd is the idea that African-American politicians would rather the status quo of race-based arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses in favor complete legalization. That is bizarre and if they think they are holding out for a better deal they are risking that the moment passes and they end up with nothing.
53
I don't think they are holding out for a better deal. What deal? We already have some set asides for women, the disabled, and minorities.
I believe they think legalizing drugs will do more harm than good for their communities.