New Jersey Officials Positive that Legal Cannabis Will Come to State

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]N[/dropcap]ew Jersey narrowly missed a chance to vote on cannabis legalization due to a lack of support recently, but legislators and residents alike are still hopeful for a passing vote this spring.

The legislators supporting House Bill 481 had enough votes in the House, but still needed more support in the Senate for the bill to pass. The vote was postponed even though Gov. Phil Murphy came out in support of the effort. “History is rarely made at the first attempt,” Murphy said hours after the vote was called off. “History is often a bumpy road of fits and starts and setbacks. But eventually, barriers do fall to those who are committed to breaking them down. Certainly, I am disappointed, but we are not defeated.”

Others also voiced their disappointment, but added inspiring messages for the future. “We’ll be back at this,” said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, “So anybody who thinks this is dead, they’re wrong . . . This is an issue that’s not going away. The legalization of adult-use marijuana will get passed in the state of New Jersey, one way or another.”

Many people in New Jersey have shown their readiness for legal cannabis. In fact, there is enough expectation that HB-481 could pass that law enforcement officials have decided to change the way they train drug-sniffing dogs in the state. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told lawmakers on April 3 that the current proposal to legalize cannabis has inspired the department to cease training drug-sniffing dogs to recognize the scent of cannabis. The proposal states that current working dogs would work at jails and schools where cannabis is still banned. Only in those places would there still be a need for such a skill, as dogs cannot be un-trained to recognize and signal the presence of any scent.

The HB-481 would set up a regulated cannabis market in the state with a $42-per-ounce tax, expand the medical cannabis legislation and clear low-level cannabis offenses.