Cannabis in New Jersey

Cannabis in New Jersey is illegal and criminalized for recreational use, but permitted for medical use. Governor Phil Murphy promised to legalize recreational marijuana within the first 100 days of his administration,[1]. As of October 2018, full legalization has yet to be achieved.

Criminalization

In 2013, New Jersey police made 24,765 arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana, the highest in two decades. The number of 2013 arrests was double that of 1993, when the state's population was smaller. The spike in arrest rates was at odds with the national trend, beginning in 2007, that saw a decline in arrests for marijuana possession.[2]

The maximum penalty for simple possession of 50 grams or less of marijuana is six months in jail and a fine. Few first-time offenders serve jail time.[2]

Marijuana reform advocacy

New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform is an advocacy coalition of "religious, civil rights, law enforcement and medical leaders" who support legalization of marijuana in the state.[3]

A report by New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform and New Jersey Policy Perspective, issued in 2016, concluded that if New Jersey legalized marijuana, it could generate about $300 million a year in sales tax revenue for the state. (The report assumed a sales tax of 25% and annual in-state marijuana sales of $1.2 billion.)[4]

Perennial candidate Ed Forchion —known as "NJ Weedman"—has been described by NJ.com as "one of New Jersey's best known marijuana legalization advocates."[5] Since the 1990s, Forchion has agitated for marijuana-law reform in the state.[5] In 2004, Forchion lost a bid to legally change his name to "NJ Weedman" after prosecutors intervened.[5] Forchion has been convicted of violating New Jersey's marijuana laws several times;[5] in 2015, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, affirmed one of his convictions, rejecting Forchion's contention that the criminalization of marijuana violated his constitutional rights under the state and federal constitutions.[6]

In 2015, Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics conducted a public opinion poll of New Jerseyans, asking whether they supported legalizing, taxing, and regulating the use of marijuana. Among respondents, 33% "strongly supported" the idea, 26% "somewhat supported" the idea, 12% "somewhat opposed" the idea, and 27% "strongly opposed" the idea.[7]

Medical cannabis

On January 18, 2010, amidst a "flurry of bills" he signed on his final day in office, outgoing governor Jon Corzine signed into law S. 119, the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, permitting the use of medical cannabis for persons with listed conditions: cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, seizure disorder, Lou Gerhig's disease, severe muscle spasms, muscular dystrophy, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease and any terminal illness (defined as an illness for which a physician certifies that the patient will die within one year).[8] The law allows the New Jersey health department to create rules to add other illnesses to the list.[8] The law does not allow patients to grow their own marijuana; instead, the plant must be acquired through "alternate treatment centers" licensed by the state.[8] Caregivers for patients are permitted to collect marijuana on behalf of the patient, but the caregiver must be designated and cleared by a criminal background check.[8]

Enrollment in the medical marijuana program is small, which has been attributed to costs, the rigid limitations of the program, and "the small number of doctors willing to recommend patients," as well as resistance to the program by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who in 2014 called the medical program a "front for legalization" of marijuana.[9] In 2011, New Jersey was described as having the strictest medical marijuana law among the 16 states that at the time permitted medical marijuana.[10]

In 2013, the parents of a two-year-old with Dravet's syndrome confronted Christie, who signed a bill allowing access for sick children to medical marijuana[11] in what was later dubbed the "pot for tots" controversy.[11][12][13]

As of 2015, 5,540 patients were registered as part of the program, along with 355 caregivers authorized to buy on behalf of ill patients.[14] As of 2017, there were 11,659 qualified patients in the state, mostly adults.[15]

Under New Jersey's medical-marijuana law, up to a maximum of six alternate treatment centers receive contracts from the state. These centers, which must be nonprofit, have the exclusive right to produce and sell medical marijuana in New Jersey.[14][10] The first dispensary opened in December 2012 in Montclair.[16] By October 2015, four additional centers had opened, in Egg Harbor Township, Woodbridge, Bellmawr, and Cranbury.[14] A sixth applicant was undergoing background checks at that time.[14] A new center is scheduled to open in Secaucus at the end of 2017.[17]

Christie has generally opposed efforts by advocates and legislators to add new illnesses to the list of qualifying conditions, but nevertheless in 2016 Christie signed into law a measure, sponsored by state Senator Joseph Vitale, that added post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of disorders making a patient eligible for the program.[18]

In 2017, the state Medicinal Marijuana Review Panel, in a 5–1 vote, recommended that a number of conditions be added to the list of medical marijuana-qualifying conditions in New Jersey, including migraines, Tourette syndrome, autism-related anxiety, and Alzheimer's disease-related anxiety, as well as chronic pain if "related to a broad range of ailments, including opioid use disorder, arthritis, back and neck pain, sciatica, diabetes, surgeries, injuries, neuropathy, Lyme disease, lupus, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, pancreatitis, and others."[15] However, the Review Panel rejected proposals to add asthma and chronic fatigue to the list.[15] The final determination on additions to the list is made by the state Health Commissioner.[15]

2017–2018 legalization proposals

In May 2017, state Senator Nicholas Scutari, a Democrat from Union, introduced legislation to legalize marijuana in New Jersey for recreational purposes.[19][20] Under Scutari's proposal, adults aged 21 and over in the state would be able to legally consume marijuana and to legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana flower, plus 16 ounces of solid cannabis-infused products (i.e., edibles); 72 ounces of "liquid marijuana tinctures, drinks and oils," and seven grams of marijuana concentrate.[19][20] A state sales tax on marijuana products[20] would go from 7% in the first year to 10% in the second year, progressively rising by 5% per year until the tax level reached 25%.[19] "Unlike all of the eight states that already host recreational marijuana programs, New Jersey would not allow home cultivation."[20] Christie strongly opposed any legalization of marijuana, calling the legislation "beyond stupidity" and "nothing more than crazy liberals who want to say everything's OK,"[21] and said that he would veto any legalization bill.[22]

In 2018, after Christie left office, the Democratic-controlled state legislature again considered the Scutari legalization bill.[23] However "at least 15 competing marijuana bills, each with a different flavor and vision, have been proposed in the Assembly."[22] Current governor Phil Murphy supports legalization, and has vowed to sign a legalization bill in a bid to raise $1.3 billion in revenue.[24] As of March 2018, the bill has not reached the floor of either chamber of the legislature, due to ongoing committee consideration and a lack of consensus among legislators.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "How the price of weed in N.J. could plunge if it's legalized".
  2. 1 2 Jan Hefler, Bucking National Trend, New Jersey Is Arresting More People for Marijuana, Tribune News Service (November 23, 2015).
  3. ↑ Susan K. Livio, Why this election could help pave way for legal marijuana in N.J., nation, NJ.com (November 3, 2016).
  4. ↑ Susan K. Livio, Legalizing marijuana would reap $300M a year in taxes for N.J., advocates say, NJ.com (May 23, 2016).
  5. 1 2 3 4 Kevin Shea, NJ Weedman's long, strange trip as marijuana advocate, NJ.com (April 30, 2016).
  6. ↑ MaryAnn Spoto, NJ Weedman taking marijuana conviction to high court, NJ.com (August 8, 2015).
  7. ↑ Marijuana Legalization for Adults with Taxation and Regulation Supported by Most New Jerseyans: Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, Center for Public Interest Polling, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (June 18, 2015).
  8. 1 2 3 4 Claire Heininger (January 18, 2010). "N.J. medical marijuana law is signed by Gov. Corzine". NJ.com.
  9. ↑ Brent Johnson, Christie says medical marijuana programs are 'a front for legalization', NJ.com (June 17, 2014).
  10. 1 2 Richard Pérez-Peña, Marijuana for Patients May Proceed, Christie Says, New Jersey Times (July 19, 2011).
  11. 1 2 Honan, Edith (January 8, 2014), New York's medical marijuana law excludes some who seek the drug, Reuters, retrieved January 20, 2014
  12. ↑ Mother Investigated After Opting For Marijuana Over Chemotherapy, CBS Denver, September 27, 2013, retrieved January 16, 2014
  13. ↑ Jones, David (11 Sep 2013), New Jersey Governor Christie signs 'pot-for-tots' bill, Reuters, retrieved January 20, 2014
  14. 1 2 3 4 Susan K. Livio, N.J.'s 5th medical marijuana, dispensary to open Thursday, NJ.com (October 14, 2015).
  15. 1 2 3 4 Jan Hefler, Alzheimer's, autism, anxiety could be treated with marijuana in NJ by 2018, Philly.com (May 12, 2017).
  16. ↑ Anemona Hartocollis, First Ounces of Marijuana Leave a New Jersey Dispensary, New York Times (December 6, 2012).
  17. ↑ "Here's where Jersey's next medical marijuana dispensary will open this year".
  18. ↑ Susan K. Livio, Christie to let PTSD sufferers get medical marijuana, NJ.com (September 14, 2016).
  19. 1 2 3 S.P. Sullivan, Here's N.J. lawmaker's plan to legalize recreational marijuana after Christie leaves, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com (May 15, 2017).
  20. 1 2 3 4 Janice Williams, Recreational Marijuana Coming to New Jersey? Lawmaker Introduces Legislation to Legalize Pot, Newsweek (May 20, 2017).
  21. ↑ Brent Johnson, Christie hammers backers of legalizing marijuana in N.J., calls it 'beyond stupidity', NJ Advance Media for NJ.com (May 3, 2017).
  22. 1 2 3 Jan Hefler, Legalized pot in New Jersey - not so fast, Philadelphia Inquirer (March 9, 2018).
  23. ↑ Claude Brodesser-Akner, Murphy's call for legalizing weed meets opposition -- from fellow Dems in Senate, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com (January 23, 2018).
  24. ↑ Elise Young, Murphy Sworn In as New Jersey Governor, Bloomberg (January 16, 2018).
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