Cannabis for adult use is officially legal in New Jersey. On Monday afternoon, Governor Phil Murphy began a COVID-19 briefing by announcing he signed three pieces of legislation into law, bringing to end months of debate and, at times, chaos, surrounding the push for cannabis reform in the state. Together, the bills decriminalize cannabis possession (up to six ounces) and establish a framework for adult-use cannabis sales. “As of this moment, New Jersey’s broken and indefensible marijuana laws, which permanently stain the records of many residents and short-circuited their futures, and which disproportionately hurt communities of color and failed the meaning of justice at every level, social or otherwise, are no more,” Murphy said during the briefing. “In their place are laws that will usher in a new industry based on equity and will reinvest dollars into communities, laws which promote both public health by promoting safe cannabis products and public safety by allowing law enforcement to focus their resources on serious crimes.”
Nushin Rashidian, Cannabis Wire, 02/21/2021 19:00:00